


Is it worth it?

by Miliz



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alpha Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Girl Penis, Girl Penis Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Lesbian Sex, Magic Cock, No Lesbians Die, Omega Verse, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-08-22 07:42:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 43,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16593701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miliz/pseuds/Miliz
Summary: This is a swanqueen AU with omegaverse dynamics. Omega Emma and Alpha Regina.Emma is a college student months away from graduation and with no good prospects, despite her efforts to become a writer. With debts closing in, the pressure to make something of herself and the frustration to have gone trough college without finding anyone to share the burdens, she takes a daring decision that might help solve a few of her problems at once. As she never had a mate before, she sells away her first night with an alpha. The buyer is none other than Regina Mills, CEO of a construction company, reserved socialite and a mystery to Emma. She paid high for it, higher than anyone else. Still, she doesn't look that interested in claiming the mating she bought - but Emma can't have her backing down, not now. There is too much at stake, and every time they meet there's more, until she doesn't know how much of a business it is after all - and if it's even worth it.





	1. McChicken

**Author's Note:**

> This is my second adventure into Omegaverse Land. This time I reversed the roles, and Emma is an omega as Regina is an alpha. Apart from that, I used pretty much our normal world. I'm still settling things up in this chapter, so there isn't much smut yet, but we'll get there. ;)

To say things weren’t going to plan was an understatement.

Emma was dripping onto a leather seat, freezing in mid-July, with her hair sticking messily to her forehead and her make up probably running down as a very passive-aggressive alpha honked away in the heavy-rain traffic. 

She cleared her throat self-consciously, “So”, she tried, “traffic is really bad, huh?”  _ Wow, Emma, really brilliant remark. God, how are you not a famous writer yet? You have such a way with words. _

“We are going to lose our reservation,” The alpha barked lowly, as if that was somehow Emma’s fault. In truth, Regina Mills was the one late to pick her up, and rain was already pouring down by the time Emma spotted the silver BMW approaching her college housing building. She was going back inside to get an umbrella when the woman rolled down the window and yelled at her to hurry up. Hence the dripping onto the leather seat. 

“You know, I think I know a shortcut,” Emma said, glancing around through the rain. “If you take the next right.”  

“I don’t fancy driving by places I don’t know,” Mills replied.

“Suit yourself,” Emma weaved her fingers through her hair, untangling it as best as she could. “You’re the one worried about the reservation.” 

The woman let the air out angrily, if that was possible, and turned on the signal light. “It wasn’t supposed to be raining,” She said, as if the weather was another reservation she had made. God knew she was just short of rich enough for that. 

“It’s alright,” Emma assured. “Rain can be even a bit romantic, I guess.” She paused. “Not that… Not that I was hoping for anything romantic. I mean, I was not hoping for  _ anything _ , really. I had  _ no hopes _ .”

“Oh. So the prospect of meeting me was hopeless to you?”

“That was  _ not  _ what I meant. And you should turn left here.”

“I guess I shouldn’t have bothered with the reservation either,” Mills went on as they entered a narrower street.

“You didn’t  _ have  _ to.”

“Why don’t I just stop here and take you in the backseat, then?” The alpha turned her head to face her, and Emma gulped softly. Did she mean it? The woman had dark, hard eyes she couldn’t seem to read. 

“Buyer’s choice, I guess,” Emma croaked, feeling the heat creep up to her cheeks. The heat. She could already feel it in the deep of her guts, simmering. It would take a whole month before it came to its apex, but the way Regina Mills was looking at her now? Emma had no doubt the heat would surface and take over should this alpha choose to take her to the backseat tonight. 

“Actually,” The alpha said, interrupting her train of thought. “I was meaning to talk to you about--” The loud boom coming from the hood was followed by a curtain of dark smoke. Regina pressed the brakes hard enough to make Emma fly against the seat belt. “What the hell--”

They came to a full stop near the sidewalk and stared through the windshield, where a column of smoke still rose under the rain. “I can’t believe this,” The alpha breathed, turning off the engine and reaching for the door.

“Where are you going? It’s pouring out th--” Emma started vainly as Mills opened the door and stepped into the street. With a sigh, the omega followed - it seemed like the polite thing to do. The woman stood staring hopelessly at the open hood, and Emma waited a step aside, wondering if she was really going to get the sleeves of her very expensive suit dirty. “What do you know about cars?” She asked as drops as heavy as coins soaked her already wet jacket. 

“That they are supposed to work!” The woman yelled, bringing a smirk to Emma’s lips, though she was still dead serious staring at the smoky engine. “Let’s go back in. It’s pouring out here.” She closed the hood with a bang.

Emma rolled her eyes and made her way back into the BMW, getting rid of her jacket as she settled on the seat. The black dress she wore underneath wasn’t any more dry, and the skin of her arms was pebbled with goosebumps. She was trying to fix her hair into a loose, dripping ponytail when she caught the eyes upon her. Regina Mills was a fierce looking woman, that much Emma had noticed since googling her for the first time. She was also good looking, of course - all power suits and alpha stance. But dripping, disheveled and flustered, she was positively beautiful; Emma noticed that almost at the same time she noticed the scent. The rain must have washed away whatever cloak-cologne she was wearing, and now that they were once again enclosed in a small space, the alpha scent jabbed her in the guts. Fresh, alluring. 

“I’ll take care of it,” Mills said suddenly, looking down at her phone and breaking contact. Her cheeks were flushed with indignation, or maybe with something else too. “I’ll have someone over in a minute.”

“It’s alright,” Emma nodded, laying back on her seat. 

“I am sure I can convince someone to hold our reservation as well.” She was still staring at the screen, her hair sticking to her neck in dark strands. 

“That’d be good. I’m actually getting hungry.” 

The woman typed furiously for a minute, concentrating so hard on it Emma wondered which poor soul was being scolded for the engine malfunction, the rain, the lateness. “Alright. Help is on its way.” She put the phone down then, and stared straight ahead to the water tapping on the hood. Emma was expecting this date - meeting? - to be awkward, because how could it not? And awkward it was, but for all the wrong reasons. She had expected crass remarks, lecherous looks, mistreatment, even. She wasn’t expecting Regina Mills to seem so disinterested in her. Not after how much she had paid! 

They were in silence for a long, weird moment.

Emma probably wasn’t what the alpha was expecting either - too much geek college girl instead of sexy fraternity chick. She just sat there, all wet - and not even in the sexy way - feeling awkward in Ruby’s borrowed dress. To make matters worse, her heat had just barely started, and her scent most likely didn’t even stir the alpha’s senses. Emma had no reason to believe she was a strong omega, although in truth she didn’t know. She had always been pretty careful to take suppressors. Every. Time. But not  _ this  _ time. This time she was going through heat clean-faced - unless they got it done tonight. Then tomorrow morning she’d be on suppressors again, and gladly. But it wasn’t looking like anything was going to get done tonight. Regina Mills didn’t even look at her direction. 

“Your scent is really nice,” Emma breathed after one more minute of awkward silence, her voice passing far from the bold tone she meant. The alpha by her side stiffened, frowning as she turned to look at her at last.

“Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Whatever it is that you’re… Flattering me? Flirting? I don’t know, just don’t.”

“It was a compliment,” Emma mumbled, facing away, her cheeks now burning. Fuck, why was she so bad at it? And why this woman looked so pissed off already? 

“Why did you do it?” Mills said, bringing Emma’s eyes back. Of course the omega knew what she meant by that. It was such an obvious question, doomed to be made, really. She had actually practiced it - like she would practice for job interviews. What’s your worst flaw? Your biggest strength?  _ Why did you do it? _

“Why not?” She replied with a tiny smirk, straightening herself. “Isn’t it every omega’s dream to give away her mating to someone who  _ values  _ them?” The light teasing tone came out perfectly this time. She  _ had  _ really practiced it. “Also, I think it is kind of adventurous, you know? Exciting. And it has brought me to… you. So… why not?”

The silence that followed this time was even heavier than the one before. Regina Mills considered her for less than five seconds before shaking her head in a bored manner. “Please, if I wanted the hooker speech I’d re-read your profile on the website.”

This time the heat rising to her face had a pang of anger, and Emma gritted her teeth. “What the hell is your problem? You didn’t like what you got? You know, I’m sure  _ the website _ has policies for that. Maybe you should just call customer service instead of giving me crap.”

“ _ I _ am giving you crap? I made a simple question and got a rehearsed answer. I am sure I didn’t pay for your cheap flirt, so if you’re going to tell me, tell me the truth at least.” She remained completely composed, and somehow that only flared Emma’s anger further. Maybe it was how much of a cheap flirt she was really feeling - although there was nothing cheap in that transaction, she had made sure of that -, or maybe it was the fact she actually felt attracted to the woman who had bought the right to be her first mate. Maybe it was because she was hoping to feel empowered to have someone spend so much - money, time, attention - on her, but Regina Mills seemed so indifferent. And maybe it was just the collision of all the crappy parts of her life that had led her to that car seat, that night. Anyway, it all came bubbling out.

“Why do you  _ think  _ I did it?” Emma spat, balling her fists. “I need the money! I’m in debt, drowning in debt, months away from graduation and no job in view. Probably because I can’t do  _ anything  _ but write, and no one is interested in what I write, so after busting my ass off through college, I’m getting out of it even  _ more  _ fucked than I got in. No job, no publisher, no perspective, no money, and sure thing, no mate! So why not? Why the fuck not?” 

For a moment, Regina didn’t make any move to reply, and Emma stood panting slightly. She had screwed up, she knew that. The woman would probably be asking for a refund first thing tomorrow. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, she had to undo this somehow, she had to… “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to yell, I…”

“They’re here,” Mills cut her, glancing at the rearview mirror. “You can stay in the car.” 

Indeed, help had arrived. Emma watched as the alpha walked out again, leaving only a trace of her scent behind. The rain had turned to a drizzle, and the car wasn’t cold anymore. Actually, now she felt hot all over. Anger, shame and a drop of heat each played a very intricate role in making her face throb. Could she blame her outburst on hormones as well? Would it stick? Regina Mills was by far her best option - every other alpha who had made a bid was exactly what Emma had expected: old, rich, crazy looking, with a violent background - and mostly male. And in the middle of all that - of  _ them  _ all - was Regina Mills, Storybrooke Buildings CEO, straight from the top shelves of high society, with not a smear on her record - not one Emma could track down, anyway. And she also happened to pay higher.

That was not the kind of alpha you’d expect to buy mates on the web, but what did she know? So Emma was definitely waiting for some kind of kink, some kind of game, some kind of power play - but then again, not the kind she got. Her eyes followed the woman through the windows, talking to some guys, examining the car again, fuming at their inability to solve her problem. Whatever it was that she wanted when she bought that night with Emma, it was clear the omega had to find a way to deliver. Regina Mills wasn’t pliable. If things weren’t ruined yet, Emma would find a way to redeem herself. She had too much to lose if she didn’t.

“The car is getting towed,” She announced around fifteen minutes later, her jaw set so tight she was almost gritting her teeth. 

“Ok…” Emma reached for the door handle. “Are we going to eat now?” She asked tentatively. 

“Yes, Ms. Swan. We are going to eat now. Get out and I’ll call an Uber.”

“Oh. Thank God. I mean... good, because I’m already starving.” 

The BMW was dragged away as they stood under a marquise, watching the rain fall lightly now. The street smelled like wet concrete, the heat of the day rising from the floor. But over that there was still that scent Emma was starting to spot well. Regina gave her a glance, a slow one this time, her eyes tracing Emma’s naked arms, to the V neck of the dress, and landing on her face. “You should put your jacket back on,” She said, eyes meeting Emma’s for a fleeting second, before she pulled out her phone. Damn woman. Now even her naked shoulders were too offensive for her to bear? 

“I’m not cold,” She replied.  _ I’m not cold, and you don’t think I am hot.  _ Mills glared at her for a moment, then went back to her phone. Emma liked to think of herself as street smart, but this time she had so much on her mind she was ambushed like any other fool. The men were upon them so fast she never saw them coming. 

“Give me that phone,” The guy urged, pointing a handgun at Regina’s midsection. The alpha looked up completely placid, her dark eyes almost challenging the thief to keep disturbing her. 

“I’m sorry?”

“Pass it down, come on. You too, blondie. Give me everything you got. Come on. Pockets too.” 

Emma felt her stomach drop. Shit, she was still paying for that damn phone. She grunted before handing it over. Regina watched her for a moment, still distracted. Was it possible the woman had never been robbed before? 

“Just hand it over to them,” Emma instructed, giving the alpha a pointed look. 

“Yes, alright,” She seemed to wake up and gave the phone to the unarmed man by their side, who looked most agitated.

“Pockets too, I told you, come on!”

“I’m going,” She hissed, reaching for her pockets as the gun barrel pressed her stomach. Mills delivered her wallet carefully, as did Emma. It wasn’t much of a loss to the omega - she left her original ID at home, and there were not ten bucks in that old ass wallet. The same couldn’t be said of the alpha’s, she was sure. 

“Nice watch,” The unarmed guy observed, rubbing his nose forcefully. Regina glared at him for a moment before unbuckling and passing it down. His eyes fled to Emma then, tongue flickering at his dry lips. “Nice scent too.” 

Emma flinched when he reached for her neck, her stomach dropping. The alpha by her side let out a very low grumble, her hand slapping his away so fast Emma barely saw it moving. “Don’t touch her!”

“We just want the necklace,” The armed man justified, eyeing the thin golden chain around Emma’s neck. 

“Oh, come on, dude, this isn’t worth twenty bucks,” Emma argued, raising her hand instinctively to hold the golden snowflake resting on her chest. She doubted it was the goal the other man had in mind. Her throat was more likely. 

“You can keep it, if you want. Let’s go for a walk and I’ll let you keep it,” The other man grinned. He smelled like cheap booze and sweaty beta. He wasn’t smelling like this a moment ago, but now the scent added to the hunger growing in his eyes.

“That’s enough,” Regina murmured, taking a step towards shielding Emma. “You already got what you wanted.”

“You don’t get to decide that, alphie,” The gun waved back and forth again, nearing Mills’ face, and Emma’s heart skipped a beat. 

“It’s ok, here.” She opened the clasp on her nape and offered it, her hand shaking just a little. The guy with the gun - an omega too - pulled it from her fingers, and the only thing she had ever had from her birth mother disappeared down his pocket. 

“Come on, Jackson, let’s go,” He urged to his partner, who was still fixated on Emma. “Come on, you moron!” 

The beta gave Emma a last lingering look before turning around and running after his pal. The cold feeling in her guts kept her frozen in place for a moment.

“Are you alright?” Mills turned to face Emma, her hands grabbing the omega’s shoulders. It was enough to defrost her. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

“I told you to put on the jacket!” The alpha barked, letting her go at once. Emma staggered slightly.  _ What? _ She had mentioned the jacket because of her  _ scent _ ? No… Emma was pretty sure it was barely noticeable at this point. Regina Mills surely didn’t seem to pay it any attention. And even if it  _ was  _ noticeable, it was not her fault if even betas were so gross!

“I’m fine,” Emma said again, more to herself than anything. “Are you?”

“Of course.” Mills glanced at Emma’s naked chest. “I am sorry about this.” She didn’t look sorry, she looked pissed; and her scent got stronger, sharper. 

Emma shook her head, trying not to delve into the burning starting in her low belly. “Did you get to call the Uber?”

Mills sighed. “No.”

“Shit.” The omega looked around. “I see a McDonald’s?”

“Yes, alright, we should get out of the street. And you should...”

“Yeah, yeah, fine.” Emma put on the jacket. 

They walked over, Emma’s stomach rumbling as soon as the oily smell of fries invaded her nose. “Shit, I’m still hungry.” She turned around to face the alpha. “Since I guess it’s safe to say we lost our reservation - do you want a burger?”

“They took our wallets,” Mills pointed out, dropping onto a table and running fingers through wet hair. 

“I always keep twenty bucks on my sock,” Emma replied, propping a foot over the chair and whisking the money out of her moist boot. The woman stared at her with an eyebrow raised. “Better safe than sorry.”

“Perhaps we should use it to get you home.” 

“Perhaps. But I really want a burger.”  _ And a chance to fix things. And that money on my account. _ “Come on, aren’t you hungry?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Don’t be proud. I can pay for dinner.” 

“I am not proud, I’m just…” 

“Looking like a Baudelaire sibling.”

“What?”

“You know. From  _ A Series of Unfortunate Events _ ?” That brought the shadow of a grin to her lips. “Ok, guess I’ll pick something for you.” She walked away before Mills could retort.

It wasn’t a feast, and it sure wasn’t fancy, and they were both still wet from head to toe and penniless, but Emma felt better once she had a fry in her mouth. Regina gave her meal an analytical look, but at last brought the cup to her lips and sipped the coke.

“I’m sorry for how things developed tonight,” The woman said. “I definitely had better plans than this.” 

“Try your McChicken and you might change perspectives.” Emma smiled as the alpha threw her an unamused look, then sank deeper into her chair. “I’m sorry for my outburst in the car.”

“Don’t be. I asked for the truth.” 

The omega nodded lightly, watching as Regina half-heartedly tasted her burger. 

“That wasn’t all of it, though,” She said after a moment. “I do need the money, but that’s not the only… I mean, I don’t think being an omega is easy, like in general, but being an omega growing up in the system was not fun.” The words came out slowly, but Mills made no mention of interrupting. “Since I had my first cycle I’ve been pretty much terrified of it. I smuggled, stashed, even  _ stole  _ suppressors when I could, to make sure I’d have them, even when creepy foster parents wouldn’t let me take them, wouldn’t let me stay quiet and away during heats, when they were alphas and… I mean, I guess in some part of my mind I always thought my mating was something that would be taken from me, not something I’d share with someone someday, you know? And then in college I thought it would be different, but it wasn’t - it was still hard just to make enough to get by, and all the time there was this thing there, this weight, like it was precious when it shouldn’t be, like it was special when it shouldn’t be, it was just weighting on me, like, heavy, and--” She stopped almost abruptly, looking up to find black eyes staring back at her. “Sorry, I don’t know why I’m saying all this.”

“Finish it,” It sounded like an order, and Emma’s heart armored-up. She wanted to fix things, but she wasn’t getting paid to get  _ this  _ naked. “I asked, didn’t I? I’m interested.”

“What I’m saying is. I could never trust anyone enough, I was never the type of girl to just fall in love, give myself in and live the fairy tale. But I am choosing, I chose this, and I chose you, and that is what I always hoped for - to get to choose - and it’s enough for me.”

Regina’s eyes seemed to soften just a little; just enough to make Emma’s gut flutter. “Thank you.” Emma looked down, not knowing how to respond. The silence came back to haunt her. “How did you know? To get a McChicken?” Mills said after a moment, taking another bite of her burger.

“Hm, you seemed like a McChicken kind of person,” The omega replied with a tiny smirk. “And you might also have said it in a interview for  _ The Real Talk  _ in 2013.”

The woman looked surprise for a second, her eyes piercing Emma’s, but not in a disapproving way. “That was very stalkerish of you.” 

“Well, I tried your Instagram first, like every normal person.”

“I don’t have a--”

“Yeah, so I had to get resourceful.” Regina Mills was definitely not a smiler, but Emma guessed she was entertained; her eyes didn’t look as hard. “I’ll admit McChicken and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie were as far as I got in finding things we might have in common.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, that and our mutual use of a, let’s say,  _ shady website _ .” Emma joked, but by that she wasn’t amused, and the omega wondered if the woman wished for some kind of girlfriend experience. It was very hypocritical to look so unease at the mention of the website at this point, but - once again - it was buyer’s choice.

“Ms. Swan, I--”    

“She is town, you know. Chimamanda. She was here for a Ted Talk and a few lectures, I think. I didn’t get a ticket, so I was really stalking  _ her  _ on her stories, to see if I could casually bump into her somewhere, you know, but… Do you think she likes McChickens too?” She dropped the sentences so fast Mills seemed a bit bewildered. 

“I… I have no idea if Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie likes McChickens, dear.” The alpha said, arching an eyebrow. Emma blushed a little, feeling all kinds of clumsy. “I did meet her once, though, and I saw her grab a salmon appetizer, so perhaps she is more of a McFish person?”

The wave of gratitude warmed her face a little more, and she offered Regina a full smile. Maybe things weren’t going so bad, after all. “Well, I guess nobody’s perfect.” The alpha agreed by having another bite of her fried-chicken sandwich. “Can’t believe you got to meet her! How did this even…? Y’all genius influential people hang out, like Taylor Swift’s gang?”

“I am not familiar with Taylor Swift’s… gang. But no, we just happened to be in the same event once.”

“Oh, right, you dated that guy from Hood House Publishing for some… Shit, I did stalk you.” 

Regina Mills chuckled, and Emma felt a sudden pang in the bottom of her guts at the sight of those plump lips curving up. There was a tiny scar on her upper lip, and she wondered what might have happened to cause it. She suddenly wanted to touch it - she wanted to lick it. The alpha’s scent seemed to wrap her again as they locked eyes, and none of them had their guards up. The sound of her short laugh still seemed to fill the air, like the sound of a wall splitting the tiniest bit. A wave of chills ran through Emma’s arms and legs, spreaded through her breasts and made her nipples so hard against the dress it stung a little. 

Those dark eyes dove down her cleavage as if on cue, and Emma fought the instinct of pulling the jacket closer. Something shifted on the alpha’s posture, a restlessness that wasn’t there a moment ago. Emma heard a foot tapping lightly on the floor, once, twice, out of rhythm, just an outlet to something that was suddenly barely under control. The first sign of desire she had earned all night, and it gave her a sense of delight that started in her venter and ran to the tips of her fingers and toes. Was  _ that  _ the feeling Ruby was always rambling about?  _ The power of the prey _ , she’d call it dramatically.  _ The power of spelling the hunter.     _

Then in the blink of an eye it was gone. The woman laid back on the chair, her eyes roaming Emma’s face as if they we're seeing through her. The laugh had silenced and any softness that it had brought vanished without a trace. “You’re a writer yourself,” She said. 

“I… guess I’m trying to be.” Emma shifted quietly in her chair, the faint tingle between her legs already starting to fade. 

“What do you write?”

“Fiction, mostly. Dark fantasy, I suppose you could call it.” 

“Sounds interesting. Are you working on a novel or something?” She asked, and Emma squirmed again on her seat, studying the woman in front of her. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to talk about her writing - writers always did. But going there seemed against the main Date 101 commandment (which according to August was “talk less, listen more”).

“I-- Not exactly. What do  _ you  _ enjoy reading?”   

“What do you mean by ‘not exactly’?” Hm. Was Regina Mills Date 101-ing  _ her _ ? Well, that was pointless. The end of the night was already paid for, after all. 

_ Maybe she is interested. _

_ Yeah. Right. _

“Well, I… just finished a novel last month, and I sent it to my agent… It’s really just a cousin of a friend of mine, and he doesn’t even have an office, but he’s nice and… I don’t know, I guess having only three or four clients means he will have time to dedicate to my work, right?” She mused with a grin.   

“What is it about?” 

“Oh, we don’t have to… You don’t have to ask, you know, just to be polite.”

“Believe me, Ms. Swan, I don’t do  _ anything  _ just to be polite.” Regina replied, and Emma had no hard time at all believing it. 

“You can call me Emma, you know,” She murmured.  _ It would be weird to hear you moaning Ms. Swan on my ear later tonight.  _ The thought surfaced out of the blue and Emma felt her face warming again. Would she moan? When she came inside her, when she claimed her first mate and filled her with her come - would she moan her name?

_ No, she won’t. Maybe she won’t even remember it. Maybe she will moan the name of some ex, some crush, maybe she’ll just keep her eyes closed until the deal is done. You are not Emma - just an un-mated omega, an expensive one. _

“What is your book about, Emma?”

The omega blinked, “Uh, fairy tales. A reimagination, you could say. I got all the characters we know, you know, Snow White, Prince Charming, Little Red Hood, Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin, all of them, and I tried to… give them the depth they lack in the original stories. I mean, fairy tales were originally meant to be cautionary tales, so we don’t really see the motivations behind the actions, and we don’t linger much on the actions either, we focus on the happy endings, but when you think about it… Man, they’re messed up.” 

“Really?”

“Oh, yeah. Either that or, you know,  _ I _ ’m messed up.”

Regina stared at her as if measuring the omega, trying to get to a conclusion, then she shrugged. “Aren’t we all?”

“You seem very put together to me.” This earned Emma a grin, but her eyes remained as hard as always. Nevertheless, she kept making conversation, and Emma found herself telling her plot in detail, narrating little parts of her life that had inspired her this way or another as Mills listened carefully, watched closely, as if she was getting answers from every part of Emma’s body. 

The omega had to admit Regina was not on Date 101, she was more of a Date AP kind of person. Emma guessed she was a  _ Life AP  _ kind of person, to be honest. There was something intimidating about her; about the way she looked so in control of things; about her perfect prodigy record; about how she could smile even when her eyes didn’t follow; the way she looked like someone who could lie through her teeth. But even so, she was charismatic, had something very earnest in every word. If she was to be a character in Emma’s book, she didn’t know whether it would be a hero or a villain; maybe a little bit of both. She’d be a complex character, for sure. One of the best ones.

“I think I will try and ask the cashier for a phone so I can get us a lift.” Regina Mills said finally, pushing her chair back. 

“Oh. Right. Ok.” Emma looked down at their empty trays, wondering at what point they had finished eating, and what time was it now. 

_ Mating time, Emma. _

The thought clenched her stomach, and she raised a hand to grab the snowflake pendant that wasn’t there anymore. It had been a weird night so far, but if they ended up in bed, Emma would wake up tomorrow with a happy and flowering bank account, for a change.  _ I chose this. It is enough for me. _

But when Mills came back, five minutes later, Emma immediately felt that whatever inches she had crawled towards that alpha in the last couple of hours were already back between them. She barely looked at the omega as she said, “A driver is on his way.”

Emma nodded, standing up. “Are we heading to your place or…?” 

Regina looked bewildered for a second, before she understood what the blonde meant. “Ah, actually, I will leave you at your dorm, or any place you might prefer.”

“Oh.”

“I believe we had enough adventures for one night,” She added, and before Emma could reply: “Should we wait outside? He won’t take long.”

She was right about that - an expensive looking ride pulled in seconds after they stepped onto the sidewalk. Regina opened the door and Emma slid into the backseat quietly, worried. It wasn’t a long ride back to college, and she wished she had more time to think of something to say. It didn’t help that now there was a stranger on the driver’s seat either - a stranger to her at least, since Mills had called him by the first name. 

The realization that they weren’t going to mate tonight left her insides so mixed up she felt a little sick. There was relief, she had to admit it - a fluttering feeling in her chest, soothing her nerves. Her body, though, was reacting differently. Disappointed wasn’t the right word for it - confounded, maybe. Unquiet. And there was still her brain, telling her the money was about to fly out of the window. She had failed even in that - in the most basic thing in life, in nature: attracting an alpha to mate her. 

Her eyes stung as she stared straight out of the window. She was being silly, of course. The night had been a disaster, and her cycle was only beginning. It didn’t mean Regina Mills would give up claiming her mate - did it? No, the woman hadn’t said anything like that. Yet. 

_ And would she, in front of him?  _ Emma glanced at the rearview mirror and found the driver’s eyes on her. He was an alpha too, she noticed then. Regina’s scent obscured his to the point of annulling it. 

“Is there a problem, Neal?” Another chill broke at the end of Emma’s spine at the tone. The omega supposed the pair of eyes the driver was now spotting on the mirror was darker than the night sky. He flushed deeply and went back to stare at the road again.

“Is it… this building, Ms. Mills?”

Regina looked around gravely, then nodded. “Yes. Pull over here.”

Emma wobbled a little as the car came to a stop, rubbing her hands on her dress, hunting for something to say before “goodbye”. 

“I will walk you to the door,” The alpha said before she could figure anything out, and got out quickly. 

Neal had stepped out too and opened the door to Emma, though he didn’t dare look up at her again. 

“I am sorry the night got so out of hand,” Regina said in a low voice as they walked slowly to the entrance. 

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“I should have planned it better,” She insisted. “They took your…”

“There wasn’t ten bucks in that wallet anyway.”

“The phone, the necklace.” 

Emma shrugged her shoulders, letting the air out. “That necklace isn’t worth shit either. It was just something… from my birth mom, I guess. Silly. It didn’t mean anything.”

“I am sorry.” 

“Don’t… I… I’m a writer, as you know, I live for the things that go wrong.”

They stopped just outside the archway entrance, and Emma turned to face her. Regina Mills wasn’t an open book, far from that, but the debate going on inside her head was just too clear in her eyes. Emma stared at those black irises as someone waiting on a sentence, and her guts clenched again. She couldn’t go through it all once more - the process, the bidding, the choosing, the date, the anxiety, the sheer fear of it. Regina Mills was rich, and educated, fairly young - she was  _ attractive _ , for God’s sake! She was the best option, an unimaginably good option and…

“Ms. Swan, I wanted to say…”

...Emma just couldn’t let it slip. 

She leaned in and kissed her. It took her by surprise, this much was clear. But it wasn’t just surprise, the shock that bolted between them when their mouths met. For one, two seconds, Emma was alone in it. Her lips brushed a tight mouth, her hands landed on tense shoulders. And then she wasn’t. 

Regina pulled her closer by the back of her neck, her tongue splitting Emma’s lips open to taste the inside of her mouth greedly. It wasn’t gentle nor romantic, but it didn’t feel like her body was a rented car that would take the alpha there and then be sent back to the parking lot either. It felt like… Regina Mills had decided to kiss her back, and once that was decided, it would be done thoroughly.

The heat that came with it was the most overwhelming feeling Emma had ever felt in someone’s arms. It was fire and fever, and a joy so pure it made her head spin. Her heartbeat sped up, the hair all throughout her skin bristling as Regina’s free hand grabbed her waist and pulled her closer against her body. And this body… it was a heat source of its own. The scent coming from it awoke something so primal Emma groaned, almost distressed. It felt good all over, so good, her stomach fluttering, a throbbing slithering from her chest to her venter, every thought giving in to the waves of arousal. And she thought that urgent feeling against her groin wasn’t just her either, she thought she felt… 

Mills broke apart taking a breathy moan with her, and Emma’s eyes blinked open slowly. 

“I should go now. I’ll call you.”

“I don’t have a… Just… email-me? Will you?” She still sounded out of breath, and the fact Regina was reading her lips didn’t help.

“Yes. I will. I-- Good night, Emma.” 

“Good ni-- I… see you soon?” 

The alpha nodded almost hurriedly before walking away. 

She nodded.


	2. Why

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks to everyone giving this a chance! I realize this is almost a slow-burn as far as omegaverses go, but we'll get there. ;) Promise.

_ Why? _

She had been asking herself that a lot lately. Regina Mills wasn’t one to question herself - she couldn’t; people already questioned her too much. Her authority, her talent, her business. So usually she made a decision and sticked to it, and she didn’t look back, and she didn’t second guess herself.

But  _ why _ ? 

_ Why did I put myself in this position? Why don’t I get it over with already? _

Regina stared at herself in the mirror, then averted her eyes. If the answer was there somewhere she wasn't ready to face it yet. Instead she splashed water on her face, trying to make the light flush go away. She took her time with her wrists under cold water, hoping it would help to ease all the importunate pulsing points in her body - it didn’t. 

Making her way back from the washroom to the bar, Emma’s scent rushed into her nostrils, flaring the blush on her face again. It was helpless. Three days ago her scent had been alluring, sexy as if by chance, the smell of something you’d like to put in your mouth if given the opportunity - it wasn’t this piercing smell of hunger.

_ Why am I doing this? _

“Hi.” 

“Hey,” The girl smiled. “Our drinks are here.”

“Good,” Regina sat on the stool by her side and sipped her apple martini. The closeness turned the omega’s scent into something that had temperature. 

“I just-- I’m trying to come up with a way to thank you enough,” Emma breathed, looking as amazed as she had for the past couple of hours. “It was unbelievable!”

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” The laconic answer didn’t faze Emma’s wonder. They had just attended a private literary talk with a few famous authors, including Adichie. The tickets had been pricey and hard to get, but Regina couldn’t help her wish to compensate the omega for the other night.

_ Why? It was not my fault, and she’ll already be handsomely paid. _

Either way, the next afternoon she made sure Emma Swan got delivered a new phone and two tickets to Chimamanda’s event. It was surely more than enough of an apology. There wasn’t anything Regina could do about the necklace and she wouldn’t lose any more sleep over it. Emma, of course, had done the polite thing of saying she shouldn't have yada yada - but then she had texted: I MEET U THERE?

Regina in truth never considered attending the event as the omega’s plus-one. The tickets had not been the prequel to a date, nor any kind of invitation. She meant to explain this; that the omega was supposed to use the extra ticket with whatever college bookworm she fancied. To be completely honest, Regina didn’t think it was a good idea to meet Emma again; any matter they left unfinished could be cleared by email. After all, they hadn’t exactly got along. All this was decided, settled, and once Regina Mills made a decision, she sticked to it.

She had no idea  _ why  _ she replied: AT SEVEN?

“You seemed to enjoy yourself a little, too,” Emma teased, gulping her beer. “I saw you grinning at least a couple of times.”

“I never said I didn’t.”

“Huh. You’re too intense, you know that?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Regina asked, eyeing the girl carefully. There was a little bit of mischief in those green eyes, a shadow of it, as if Emma was aware of the effect she had on the alpha.

“I don’t know,” She shrugged slightly. “You’re so serious. When was the last time you laughed? Really laughed?”

Regina glanced at her again, trying to determine if that was a tricky question, or just a silly one. Emma leveled her stare, bringing the bottle to her lips once more. At ease. She was a pretty girl; all milky skin, golden hair and rough edges. Yes, Regina was aware of the rough edges, and she spotted all the sharpness under that light mood. They said  opposites attracted, but generally what brought people close was how much of themselves one saw in the other. And there was something here.

“I don’t remember,” She said honestly, and Emma nodded.

“See? So serious.” She was teasing again, flirting, maybe, and Regina wished she wasn’t falling for it - but her body felt taut and jumpy, and the scent filling the air between them made the south of her guts feel too warm. The alpha writhed on her stool, trying to dissipate that buzz. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” Emma added, watching her, mistaking her discomfort with social awkwardness. “I’m just kidding.” 

Regina wondered if she was really so unaware of herself; half the bar sniffed her when they walked in. “It’s alright. You’re not the first one to say it.” 

“Really? Who else called you intense?” 

Regina squirmed again, and this time the question did have a part in it, “My husband.” 

That made Emma stop, and a light blush creeped up her cheeks. “I didn’t know you were married,” The omega said in a small, embarrassed tone. This almost brought a grin to Regina’s lips. How curious - a virtuous hooker. It was ok to open her legs to a married woman, for the right price, but not to flirt. 

“I’m a widow,” The alpha clarified after leaving the girl to dry a moment longer. 

“Oh. I’m so sorry… I didn’t…” 

“Stalk me enough?”

“I guess not,” Emma smiled a little. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“It was a long time ago.” 

“What happe…? I mean… You’re so young to be… a widow.” 

Regina took a moment to sip her drink again, “He was older than me. More than thirty years.” What went unsaid was  _ he didn’t die too young, it wasn’t such a tragedy, you don’t have to pity either of us.  _ What went unsaid was  _ I’m not that sorry for my loss _ .

“Wow, that’s… quite a difference. How did you two meet?”

“I’ve always known him,” She said, gesturing for the barman to get them another round. “Our families attended the same clubs, the same parties. Leopold was always very nice, very polite to me. I remember finding him quite charming, even as a kid.” Emma didn’t say a thing, but Regina could spot the doubt in her eyes, in the way her forehead creased. “Of course, nothing happened for a long time,” She added, though the omega’s expression didn’t lighten. “Once when I was seventeen, I helped his daughter in a small incident in the country club. The girl grew very attached to me, and then Leopold and I got closer. By the time I was twenty, we were engaged.”

“He groomed you.”

“What?”

Emma blushed harder this time, but the fierceness in her eyes remained. “He  _ groomed _ you since you were a kid, and then when you were just a teenager. How did your parents even  _ let _ him?” 

“My parents were thrilled,” The alpha replied, surprised by the sharpness in Emma’s voice now. “Well, at least my mother were. Leopold was a very important man, and he treated me with respect.”  

“With respect? A man that truly respects a seventeen-year-old doesn’t take her to his bed! And I know you’ll say I’m out of line, and that you loved him--”

“I didn’t.”

“But he was… Wait.” Emma’s face was so reddish now Regina felt her mouth water a little. The omega was agitated, for some reason, and that made her scent gain a whole new layer of intensity. “You didn’t?” 

“Of course, I thought I did, for some time. I was definitely flattered by his interest, and my mother… She was very hard to please, but dating Leopold? Oh, she was so pleased about that.” 

Emma’s anger seemed to ease slowly, her attentive eyes roaming Regina’s face for any detail she might be hiding. But she wasn’t hiding any, at least not from Emma. In fact, the alpha felt like she was oversharing; telling things she didn’t remember voicing to anyone before. 

“What made you find out? That you didn’t really love him?” She asked softly, and they both knew Emma had already guessed the answer. Going there was too much, a subject Regina never brought up, and that no one brought up around her either. The few that knew about it, that was. There weren’t many. Almost fifteen years later, and it was still that dirty little secret her mother had made it. 

“Daniel,” The alpha whispered into her cup. “I met Daniel.” 

“I sense a love story,” Emma joked, not without tenderness. 

“We were just silly kids,” Regina dismissed it, though Daniel’s face was suddenly in the front of her mind, too young and too eager, a little lost, a little amazed, a little scarred. Not so different from Emma Swan herself, and the alpha wondered if that was it. If all this craziness, her weird behavior in the past few weeks, if it was all because that girl felt like an echo from the past. 

“How did you guys meet?” Emma went on, ignoring the alpha’s weak attempt of ending the conversation. 

“He worked at my parent’s property in Maine; took care of the horses.” Regina finished her second martini as if she could swallow the taste of those times. “He was an omega too. The summer he went to work there… I just had to lay eyes on him. That was it. We were together all the time we could spare.”  

“Then why did you marry Leopold?” 

Regina settled her cup in the bar slowly. “It’s complicated.” This time her tone made it clear that subject was closed. Emma understood it quickly, but instead of flustered or upset by the alpha’s sudden coldness, she reached for the woman’s hand, her fingers rounding Regina’s wrist gently. 

The alpha’s heartbeat quickened as if on cue, pulsing under Emma’s fingertips. It was the first time they touched since that senseless kiss the other night. Regina had beaten herself up for that, asking over and over: why? Why hadn’t she ended it? Why hadn’t she pushed Emma back? Why did she reciprocate? Why hadn’t it felt like a choice at all? But in that moment, it had felt good, just purely good. Emma melted in her arms, her mouth tasted sweet and she let out all the right, damp noises. And although it embarrassed her more than Regina cared to admit, she had only managed to let go because she knew she was one step away from taking her. She let go because in the deep of her mind something whispered: _ it’s paid for.    _

The shame was the only feeling strong enough to overcome the longing. At once, Regina felt cheap, although  _ she  _ was never the one on sale. She felt dirty, too, like the men she overheard talking, their filthy mouths and filthy hands and filthy eyes occupied in murmuring her name from a phone screen in filthy lecherous tones: Emma Swan. 22 years old. Blonde college girl. Never mated before. Regina was used to that kind of disgusting alphas, disgusting people, that thought money and power set them above anyone else; sometimes she woke up in the mornings sweating, fearing she had thoroughly become one of them.      

That night she had cuddled in her armchair with a bottle of bourbon, and in the morning an email announced she was the lucky winner of a one-night stand with Emma Swan, 22 years old, blonde college girl, never mated before. For a salty price, she had earned the right to be the first to take that omega, to mate her once - once was the agreed - and feel like such an alpha! 

_ Why? Jesus Christ, why? _

It wasn’t the policy of no refunds that restrained her from cancelling the deal. It was the memory of those ugly men. So she emailed Emma instead, set up a date, even made a nice reservation. The day they were supposed to meet, Regina found herself even curious. If Emma turned out to be the kind of girl who actually owned the profession, who felt confident and empowered to do it, who really  _ meant _ to do it, Regina wouldn’t be in her way; mistake explained, her page would be up on that website again in no time. But that wasn’t what she found, was it? 

Emma Swan  _ was _ confident, and Regina didn’t think she was being pimped out or anything of the like. But there was more to it. Her reasons were honest, clear, and yet the omega didn’t seem so sure. She was scared; of doing it, of not doing it. She was cornered. Regina knew what it felt like, and a cornered animal was dangerous, but a cornered woman was brutal. She didn’t want to be part of Emma’s brutal decision of sacrificing this part of her life. She was going to pay - it sufficed an email to the website alleging Emma had fulfilled her part of the deal, and the money would be released - and free the girl, like a wild bird she’d return to the woods. 

Then that wild bird had sank its claws in her wrist. 

Tenderly. 

“Is it crazy that I want to make you laugh?” Emma said, looking up, bringing Regina back. “I feel a little challenged. And I really wanna know how it sounds, your laugh.” Her hand was still slightly propped on Regina’s arm, and a little wave of heat kept flowing up to her chest.

“I thought I told you not to flirt with me.” 

“Is it like a general rule, or just because I’m so bad at it?” The omega said, and her eyes fixated on Regina’s lips, noticing the tiny smirk that appeared there. “Oh, come on. At least a smile?” 

“Miss Swan.” Her voice sounded much less harsh then she intended. At least she didn’t smile - but Emma looked contented anyway.

“I’m sorry if I was intrusive before,” She retracted her hand, and in the wake of the warm feeling she left there, Emma combed her hair with those fingers, tying it in a loose updo. The scent that wafted in Regina’s direction was intoxicating; her eyes roamed the curve of that bare neck, the fair trail of hair sticking out in her nape. Emma had such a pretty jawline, and tight, pale lips that enclosed the most alluring breath. All around heads turned, people shifted in their seats, gulped their drinks in light discomfort. Regina had to battle the instinct to place an arm over her lean shoulders, or even to bite that beautiful stretch of immaculate skin and leave her mark. To do anything that said that scent, that heat, was meant to her alone. 

The mix of feelings left Regina’s mouth dry, her mind incapable of coming up with an answer. The truth was, since Daniel, most omegas didn’t lure her in the least. She could pass unbothered by a crowd of them cycling and never look over her shoulder. Indifferent wasn’t the word; she was uninterested. Leopold had been an omega too, but his days of cycling were long gone by the time they were married. After his death, Regina had had sex with the same kind of intent she went to the gym. She had mated a few times, and her body took pleasure from it, as the healthy alpha she was. But this kind of raw attraction hadn’t been part of her life for ages. 

Emma noticed it; of course she did. Her eyes darted down slowly until they landed on the discreet volume under Regina’s pants. The alpha heard her breath just barely catching, and followed closely the pink tongue flicking that lower pale lip. A delightful flush climbed up Emma’s throat, and when their eyes met the trance was almost unbreakable.

The omega leaned forward, and Regina felt a bolt of energy when a warm hand landed on her knee. Her cock throbbed, getting harder, less discreet by the second. She took a deep breath, willing her body to get under control again, but Emma’s proximity clouded most of her coherent thoughts, most of her sense of decency. 

“Let’s get out of here,” The omega whispered close to her face, and Regina swallowed hard. She could almost  _ feel _ the stare of alphas and betas around them. The temptation of taking her by the hand and finding a room drummed through her venter. It would be so easy to give in.

“Alright,” She agreed, and Emma jumped out of the stool. Two minutes later they were on the sidewalk. The clouded night sky was clear and reddish, the air heavy with a promise of rain. Out in the open, Emma’s scent fused with the smell of the city and Regina could breathe again, soothing her blood back to more reasonable places - like her brain.

“Where should we go?” Emma asked, a hint of anxiety in her voice, and Regina had to remind herself again: behind that carefree, flirty posture there was a girl who had made a tough decision and was still struggling with it. She had to remind herself that despite what the cycle made them feel, it was all still a power play, and Emma was all the time ready to be subdued.  

She had to end it. 

“Let’s go for a walk.” 

Emma nodded and Regina lead them through the streets and into the park, walking in a silence that felt electrified. 

“Do you leave nearby?” Emma asked, dragging her feet slowly through the paving stones while the trees rustled softly around them.

“Not too far, I suppose. Why?” 

“You seem to know your way around.” 

The alpha nodded. “I used to run in this park, there, by the lake,” She pointed. 

“Used to?”

“Most days now I prefer the gym.” 

“How fitness of you,” She teased lightly. 

“You won’t be 22 forever either, Ms. Swan.” 

“Oh, don’t play the age card on me. You just seem like the kind of person who drinks green juice because you like how it tastes.”

“How did you manage to turn a healthy habit into an offense?” Regina raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“It’s a talent,” Emma beamed, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear before looking up again. “So are we going there? To your house?”

“Actually, Emma… I’ve been meaning to tell you this,” She started. The words hung in her mouth, unwilling to come out. Why? This situation was ludicrous. A month ago, Regina would have laughed at someone who suggested even half of that story. And yet now that she could set them both free of that idiocy, she hesitated.

“What is it?” She sounded nervous now, pocketing her hands so they didn’t give away how much.

“I wanted to clarify this from day one, but so much happened in our first encounter I decided it was best to talk again in another opportunity,” Regina said. “I am sorry to have wasted two nights, I do realize it is not your obligation to allow me so much of your time. The truth is, I do not intend to take you home tonight. I did not intend to take you home the other night either...”

“Yeah, I figured,” Emma replied calmly as the alpha still searched for the right words to explain herself. 

“You did?”

Emma shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself. “Yeah, I mean… Ruby says - Ruby is my friend, she’s an omega too -, she says alphies won’t even look at her twice before she’s way into her third week of cycling, and I’m barely over my first, so--”

“What?” Regina braked in her tracks, trying to grasp all the information Emma was laying down. She was on her  _ first _ week? Was it really possible? Her scent was already so enticing it made the back of her neck prickle. The alpha was sure Emma was almost peaking - she had to be. The kind of effect she had over people was too much for a first week… it was… God, how would it feel in its apex? The idea made her hard again, against all her might. 

“You seemed like the kind of person who waits for the best moment,” Emma whispered, her cheeks flushing again. “And I don’t feel like I wasted my time at all! I thought it was really nice to get to know you before we… before you… you know. And today was just… incredible. I loved it. You’ve been so nice, so… dreamy, even. I just… I’m glad for everything, really.” She had stepped closer, enveloping the alpha in her scent again. 

Emma had misunderstood everything. Regina had to set the record straight, and she would… She would explain the truth and give her the money and tell her to chase her dreams and they’d never see each other again and life would go back to normal as it should, she would do all that, if she could just catch a breath to form the words, a breath that wasn’t heavy with Emma’s scent.

“Emma, this isn’t…” 

“I don’t mind,” The blonde cut in, shaking her head. “I will wait, I don’t mind, not for you.” She was even closer now, and Regina spotted tiny golden dots in her green eyes. Under the yellow lamps, she seemed older, bolder, as alluring as a mermaid. “It’ll be just like you want, ok? In a couple of weeks I’ll be ready. It won’t take long at all. I’ll wait.” 

“Emma.” Regina hated how much her tone sounded like pleading now. The chance was dripping through her fingers and she couldn’t seem to hold it. Emma leaned forward and brushed their lips together. “No. Don’t do that,” The alpha whispered. Her heart was throbbing in her throat, in her pants.

“I know you don’t owe me this,” Emma murmured back, “but kiss me.” She tested the waters again, her fingertips sliding softly by Regina’s jawline. “Let me taste what it’ll feel like when we do it.” She pleaded lowly. 

“You don’t have to seduce me,” Regina said in a strained voice.

“Is it like a general rule, or just because I’m so bad at it?” She replied, and this time Regina couldn’t restrain the foolish grin that stretched across her face and made Emma’s eyes fall to her mouth before she smiled too. “I’m getting there.”

And then, all be damned, Regina kissed her. Why?  _ Why?  _ There was just no answer good enough, nothing that would make sense, no reason that would sooth her guilt in the days to come. There wasn’t a because, and there wasn’t a way out. 

Regina sucked softly at the tip of her tongue and Emma panted, her feeble hands caressing both sides of the alpha’s neck, then cupping her face. The chill that ran up her back left every bit of skin prickling as she grabbed the omega by the waist and pulled her closer. 

“Regina…” Emma all but moaned, her voice barely audible. Something in the way her name sounded in Emma’s lips made Regina want to take her to a far, far away place, where who they were and what they did didn’t matter as long as they could keep touching each other. 

A similar idea must have crossed the omega’s mind, because she parted the kiss and took Regina by the hand, dragging her out of the paved pathway and into the grass, where they stumbled at protruding roots before Emma settled by a straight shadowed corner against a maple tree.

It was so ridiculous that she would hide around in a park to make out with a girl almost half her age, a hooker she had no intention to take, an omega that hadn’t reached her second week of cycling yet. None of it made any sense, and still Regina let herself be pulled into another kiss, harder and hotter this time as Emma’s scent mingled with the sweetness of syrup. 

There was an eagerness in that omega, a clumsy rush in the way she pushed her chin forward if Regina pulled even slightly back. The alpha wrapped a hand in Emma’s hair, locking her head in place as she pressed her against the maple trunk with her body. She took control of that turmoil that was Emma Swan as naturally as it could be, imposing a rhythm to their kiss, obliging the heat of their bodies to her will. There was the most tenuous attempt of resistance, with fingers clawing at her shoulders as Emma gasped for air against their pressed lips. Regina didn’t give her much time to catch her breath before the kiss was at full speed again, their tongues entwining hastily. 

Everything that wasn’t about Emma faded within a few seconds, including Regina’s own need that throbbed so hard at this point her whole body felt sore. But what Emma wanted, what Emma felt - that was what really mattered. And Emma wanted more, Emma felt desperate; this much Regina could sense. She bit on Emma’s lower lip, scratching it between her teeth, her free hand groping for her thigh to stop the squirming. 

“Ah,  _ shit _ , I…” Emma gasped almost out of breath, voicing the words between lunges of Regina’s tongue in her mouth. And all the time she was arching her back, pressing her shoulder blades against the trunk so she could push her hips forward and steal rubs from Regina’s now very clear hard-on. Her legs twitched and fretted even as Regina enlaced an arm around one to keep it quiet. 

It might be her first week, but Emma was falling quickly into the grasp of her heat, and Regina felt it as it took over her piece by piece and the desire turned into a painful need. The omega’s breath became shallow and the whimpers wailful, and then, just as a swimmer that suddenly realizes he is in the hands of the ocean’s flow, Regina understood she too had gone too far. She should have never let it happen, and yet stopping now was inconceivable. Emma would hurt if she tried - fuck,  _ she _ would hurt too. 

Emma sobbed just under her breath, a small demonstration of the need building up inside, and the alpha knew she couldn’t linger on it. The more they shared, the bigger their need would become, until there was only one way out. So she pulled on Emma’s leg forcefully, splitting them apart in one rough move, and placed a knee between them. The omega let out a moan Regina had to swallow in a kiss before it echoed through the night. For a moment, Emma stood almost frozen, her body feverish in that dark corner of the city, lost in herself, and the alpha wondered if she would have to tell her what to do, how to make it better for herself. But then Emma moved, slowly at first, savoring it, pressing herself against Regina’s knee, back and forth, then faster, harder, shivering now, clawing at the alpha’s back, rolling her hips in despair, more, more, until her come ran down her knickers and pants, surrounding Regina in a cloud of mad lust.

And then, because it still was her first week - was it possible?! -, she eased down, all but satisfied. Regina let go of her fast, while she could, while that simple look of joy on Emma’s face allowed her to let go. And when she did, Emma blinked and snapped out of it. 

“Whoa, I… Shit, I wasn’t expecting this,” She whispered, straightening her shirt self-consciously. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… You didn’t have to…”

“It’s alright,” Regina said, priding herself in how leveled her voice sounded. “We both got carried away.” 

Emma blushed, her thighs shut close, letting Regina easily read what was on her mind: only one of them had come, and not the one who was paying to be pleased. 

“Do you want me to…? I can…” 

“No,” Regina shook her head, maybe too quickly, making another layer of embarrassment cover the omega’s cheeks. “Don’t worry about it.” 

“Right,” The girl looked down at her feet, uncertain. “Let’s just… wait. Yep.” 

_ I can’t wait, I shouldn’t. End this now. End this!  _

But she couldn’t. Why?

“It’s getting late, we shouldn’t linger around here,” Regina said instead.

“Sure, you’re right, I can’t risk another phone,” She joked half-heartedly, but Regina was already making the way back to the main road.   

“Let me put you in a cab.”

“I’m sorry if I overstepped…”

“You apologize a lot, Emma,” Regina turned to her, trying to ignore the pull in guts. 

“Not usually,” The omega said, catching up with her. “Maybe you make me a little nervous.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“What?”

“This! This… clumsy flirting, the blushing, the… Whatever this is, this façade of the sweet, inexperienced omega. I don’t know, does it come with the package? Is it paid for?”

The color drained from Emma’s face, and she recoiled a little, as if Regina had punched her. The alpha didn’t mean to say any of it, she didn’t even see it coming, and now the words hung in the air like smoke, choking them both.

“You’re so paranoid, you know that? You buy a girl online and then freaks out asking yourself if every word that comes out of her mouth is fake!” Emma stepped in front of her, looking up into her eyes. 

“And isn’t it?!” Regina spat back, heart thumping in her temples.

“You know what?” Emma chuckled humorlessly, then shook her head. “You paid really well, you did, I admit it. And for that I’ll open my legs for you anytime you want. Is that honest enough to you? You call me when you decide you want it, and we’ll skip the foreplays - because it  _ isn’t _ paid for - and we’ll just do it.” 

“Emma.”

“What? What do you want from me? A discount for what we just did?” She drawled, furious now. “Because I’m not supposed to take pleasure from it, am I? I’m not supposed to enjoy it!”

“That’s not what I meant.” 

“I’ll be peaking in two weeks, and you can  _ fuck me _ and let me go.”

“Don’t talk like that! I never treated you like a cheap hooker!”

“No,” Emma grimaced. “Only as an expensive one.” 

Regina’s jaw dropped for a second, and the omega took the moment to walk away from her, towards the park’s gates. 

“I’ll put you in a cab,” She tried weakly at her back. 

“I’ll take the bus, cause I don’t have the money for a cab!” Emma yelled without turning back. “ _ Yet. _ ” 

 


	3. Too far

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, girls! I've been going back and forth about leaving some notes here or let the fic speak for itself, but. I think I'll just go through a few points quickly, and mainly let the story go on. So. Here we go.   
> \- I'm not a fan of fics where the omegaverse dynamic is used as a veil to toxic masculinity behaviors. I'm also aware the canon Regina, in FTL, is quite agressive, but as this is a AU, she did not ever kill anyone, nor is she a violent person. She's a normal person! She can't do magic, and I certainly can't picture Regina Mills on a fist fight. So. No, she isn't violent, and she isn't dominant in a misoginist kind of way.   
> \- I have to adress Emma's feelings about working as a prostitute, but that's all it is - Emma's and Regina's thoughts and feelings over this specific context. I'm not making a judgement over the profession or anything of the like.   
> Please, feel free to DM me if you feel like talking about it. I will certainly enjoy it :)
> 
> Now, that's one NSFW chapter, so... you've been warned!

The dark BMW approached the curb with a soft purr of the engine, halting right in front of Emma. The omega reached for the door handle, missing it by a few inches. Her hand felt funny, tingly, and she groped around the door, distracted by her own reflex in the dark window pane until the glass rolled down. The breath of cold air that wafted from inside was fuelled by the most luscious scent she had ever felt, and a goosebump spread through her arms and down her cleavage, bristling her skin from nipples to navel. 

The dark eyes that watched her from the driver’s seat were as cold and as lustful too, but for the first time Emma wasn’t intimidated by them. She leaned in, propping her elbows on the window frame and sticking her head inside. 

"Hey beautiful! Looking for some company tonight?" She teased, the voice coming out slow and hoarse. 

Regina gave her an unamused glare. "Don't be silly, just get inside." 

“You’re no fun,” Emma pouted before complying. She pulled the door open and stumbled a little before settling on the seat. 

" _ Jesus _ , Emma," Regina breathed, barely over a whisper, as soon as the door slammed shut. The girl turned to face her, narrowing her eyes at the sudden spur of color crawling up the alpha's neck; the nonchalance on that face was sinking like a paper boat on the ocean. Emma had received that kind of look all night, but none seemed to melt her insides like this. She usually felt shy and nervous around alphas, weird out by the thought she was attracting them, willingly or not. But right now she wasn’t nervous, and she wasn’t shy - she  _ liked  _ it.

"Like my scent, do you?" She teased, and Regina could barely avert her eyes from the wicked grin on Emma’s lips. "Is it good enough now? You going to fuck me tonight?"

The alpha looked up again, an unreadable expression taking over her face; but there were other parts of Regina she didn’t have that much control over, and Emma found herself biting on her lower lip as her eyes roamed down to the tempting volume already showing on the woman’s lap.

"Are you drunk?" Regina asked abruptly, bringing her eyes back up.

"What? No!" Emma giggled. “No, I’m… yeah, maybe a little?” 

"Oh,  _ great _ ." 

"What? I didn't know you'd call! I have a life too, you know?!"

"If you were so  _ busy _ , why did you even pick up?" 

"Well, you called!" She replied lamely. "And I…”  _ What? I fantasized it was to apologize? I jumped at the chance to see you again? I dreamed tonight you’d finally want me?  _ “I’m at your service, am I not?” 

"At my service?” Regina looked angrier, her hands grabbing the wheel forcefully, though she managed to keep her voice steady. “You really thought I'd sleep with you like this?"

"What difference does it even make? I can still open my legs just fine," Emma defied, knowing she was rubbing Regina the wrong way and unable to stop herself.    

"What difference--?" The alpha was livid now. “What about consent, Emma? Is  _ that  _ enough of a difference to you?” 

Emma opened her mouth, but no smart come back came out of it. The silence wrapped them, uncomfortable and heavy. "I'm not  _ that _ drunk," She mumbled after a moment.

Regina sighed, finally looking defeated. "That's not even why I called you.”

“What is it, then?”

“I… didn’t care for how we left things, the other night,” She said carefully. Emma faced away from her, heart suddenly thumping.  _ The other night  _ had been on her mind more than she wanted to admit. “Anyway, I was not requiring… your service,” Regina added, a bitterness wrapping the words. “If you want to go back to your party or whate--”

“I don’t,” Emma cut in, still staring through the window. “August already vanished with some guy, and people are looking at me funny.” 

“August?” 

“He’s my friend - though not a very good one. He’s a whore.” Emma complained, very aware of how childish she sounded. “But we were the only ones in town for the summer, so.”  _ The only ones without a family home to go back to. _

“I see.” 

“So if we’re done here, I’m going back home,” Emma reached for the door again, but a hand landed on her knee, freezing her. God, Regina felt as hot as she smelled. Emma felt a throb start up her legs, and she couldn’t help but wish the touch would follow it.  _ The other night  _ had been half a dream, half a nightmare. The kind of pleasure she felt was like a very addictive drug; she had been waking up everyday craving it, and it wasn’t getting any better. 

Everything was already starting to feel so messed up Emma wasn’t sure what to do next. Up until  _ the other night _ , Regina had been nice and mostly polite, so she was willing to wait until her cycle came to its apex before they did the deal. Mind, it wasn’t as easy as she made it look. Going out was already a strain, with people sniffing her everywhere, even if she wore a cologne. Her body was already getting pretty much out of control, too, throbbing and warming up at ungodly hours, longing for something, someone, as it never did before. Anyway, she was going to wait, and if in the meantime Regina wanted to keep tabs on her or something, it was mostly fine, too. At one point Emma even thought maybe this would feel much better than she had anticipated, when it finally happened. Maybe it didn’t have to be so cold and impersonal. After all, Regina kissed her like she meant it. Regina touched like she couldn’t help herself.

Then Regina also went all kinds of crazy. 

Truth be told, Emma hadn’t reacted much gracefully either, but she had sold only her first mate, not her soul, and definitely not her dignity. The alpha only had right to what she paid for, and if she didn’t want that, the deal could still be broken, they hadn’t mated, no harm done there. So Emma really wasn’t expecting it when she was notified, the day after, that her payment had been released. 

The omega was sure that, to do that, Regina had to confirm Emma had fulfilled her part of the deal. So not only the alpha paid ahead, but she pretty much gave Emma a way out. She could take the money and scram. Really, there was nothing holding her back. Except, of course, for her word. Emma said she would wait and do things just as the alpha wanted - and regardless of how distrustful Regina seemed sometimes, she had believed her enough to do this. 

Only this, though. Except for that demonstration of trust carried out by the website’s standard notification email, the alpha was silent for almost a week. Emma withdrew the money; Emma paid her debts; Emma got a new computer; Emma got hot and bothered; Emma checked on her phone too much; at last, Emma got drunk. 

_ Then _ she called!

“We can grab dinner,” Regina offered, hand still on her knee, light. “Or coffee.”

“I don’t wanna stay out, I told you, people are staring at me awkwardly,” Emma complained, wishing the alpha’s tenuous attempt of fixing things wasn’t enough, but feeling it might just be. The anger was already leaving her, rapidly replaced by this urge to stay close, to stay under her eyes and hands.

The alpha hesitated for a second, then, “We can go to my place and get delivery.”

Emma finally turned to face her again. “Your house?”

“If you want to,” The hand left her leg and Regina straightened herself. “Only so we can have dinner and talk without you being bothered,” she added. “I’m not  _ requiring _ anything from you.”

“Jesus,  _ relax _ ,” Emma rolled her eyes. She was probably the only prostitute in the world who kept being ditched by the person paying for her services. The thought bothered her in more ways than one; she shook it off. “Ok, I’ll go…  _ if _ we can have pizza.” 

_ Wow, Emma, you’re making it really hard on her. _

Regina didn’t reply, only turned the engine on again, a faint relief passing by her face. Or so Emma wanted to believe. 

“So,” Emma started, looking out the window. “I received the payment already.”

“Oh? Good.” 

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I should have done it sooner,” The alpha replied, her eyes never leaving the road. “There was no reason to hold this over your head. It was never my intention.”

“I never thought so,” Emma said. “Anyway, it’s not like I’m gonna run. I’m dutifully waiting.”

Regina’s knuckles became white on the wheel, the only sign Emma spotted that she was upset. Everything else remained cool. “If you ever feel like running, please, do,” She finally said. Emma winced a little, hugging herself on the cold leather seat. Ditched again. “I don’t want you like a pray,” Regina added in a very small voice. 

In the best case scenario, that was vague, and in the worst, hypocritical. But it resonated within Emma nonetheless. This thing going on between them was getting every time less straightforward, and for it Emma felt much less cheap, much less robotic. Human relationships were difficult and weird, even when sex and money were not involved. The fact Regina took no pleasure from putting her on a subdued position already made all the difference. 

“Tuna,” Emma whispered.

“What?”

“Tuna pizza.” 

The alpha turned to gaze her. “That’s just nasty.” 

“I have peculiar tastes,” Emma mocked. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Regina rolled her eyes, but the car rolled on. Emma drummed her fingers on her knee, the silence somehow highlighting their closeness. Everything about the alpha sitting next to her was fiery; her smell, the heat wafting from her body, the way her legs moved to press the pedals, the outline of her hard-on against her pants. It was discreet - Regina was a composed alpha, if Emma had ever met one - but it was there. Just reminding them both that something was bound to happen. 

“So, how was your week?” Emma asked, before the pressure building in her lower belly could overcome her better judgement. 

“My week?”

“Yeah. What kind of adventure is going on in your life right now?”

“Well, I don’t believe I am very adventurous,” Regina glanced at her. 

“Nothing exciting at work?” 

“Not particularly.”

“Jeez, you’re really bad at making conversation,” The omega accused, making a frown take over the woman’s face. 

“Fine, you tell me about  _ your  _ week, then,” She replied. “What interesting features are going on in Emma Swan’s life?”

“For starters, I got a shit load of money,” Emma grinned as Regina snorted under her breath. “And my agent said he’s got some people reading my novel,” She added, nibbling at the edge of her fingernail.

“Really? Publishers?” 

Emma shrugged, “No one big, I’m sure, but… I felt like celebrating anyway.”

Regina fell silent for a moment. “I interrupted.”

“No. No, I mean, I was about to leave anyway.” The woman glanced at her in doubt, and Emma offered her a reassuring beam. “I rather have some tuna pizza.”

“Huh. Each to his own, I suppose,” Regina replied, though her shoulders seemed to relax a little. “Can I read it?” She asked then.

“What? My novel?!”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I’m curious. How is it called?”

Emma hesitated. “ _ Once upon a time _ . That’s… how I’m calling it, so far.”

“It’s an interesting title.”

“Thanks.” 

“So can I read it?” She pressed, making a shudder pass across the omega’s stomach. Writing was the only thing Emma knew how to do. Make up stories in her mind, turn them into words, tell them to other people, so they could escape their realities too. Growing up, that had made her the favorite foster sister in many homes, and had gotten her through one too many sleepless nights.  

But although Emma had a big imagination, she wasn’t much of a dreamer. She knew things rarely went smoothly for someone with her background - the chances that there was a successful, stellar career ahead of her were slim. She knew that much, yes. That didn’t mean she thought she was bad at what she did, though. Hell, no. She was good at it. Emma Swan was a fine writer, fine as fuck. 

What didn’t mean she wanted Regina Mill’s opinion on it. 

“You wouldn’t like it,” She murmured, leaning forward to turn on the radio. “What kind of music you have here?”

“How do you know?” Regina arched an eyebrow. “You’re trying to get published; might as well get used to people reading your work.”

“But it’s not published yet,” She zapped through a few stations, searching for one that would bother Regina into changing the subject.

“Call me a beta-reader, if you will.”

“You know, you really don’t have to be this polite…”

“Emma. I don’t do anything just to be--”

“Yeah, I know,” The girl sighed, then leaned back on her seat. Taylor Swift was shaking it off on the radio. “Alright. I’ll send it to you, if you really want to.”

“I want to,” Regina said with a hint of victory in her eyes.  

Emma blushed a little; for some reason, the thought of Regina reading her work gave her a tingly feeling all over. “Want me to chance stations?”, She tried again.

“No need; we arrived.”

And indeed, Regina was turning into a dark iron gate at the side of a towering building. A flick of the headlights made it slide open, and they rolled into a wide garage. She halted just inside, and Emma was caught by surprise by the man that opened the door for her. 

“Ow, hi,” She said sheepishly. Regina was already out, and a valet waited to park the car. Emma took the hand that was being offered, blushing when the beta taking it made a pained expression as she stepped out. It was subtle, but it was there. 

“Emma, dear,” Regina called, and the omega went to join her. To Emma’s surprise, the alpha took her hand. Was there a simpler touch? Regina held her hand while leading her towards the elevator, and a chill ran up the omega’s arm as a fire through a drought. Regina held her hand as the doors opened and they got inside. Regina held her hand as she pressed the button to the penthouse. Her palm seemed to be getting warmer against Emma’s, and it sure was stupid how conscious of her fingers touching the back of her hand the omega seemed to be. But they were touching again, and it was… brief. Regina let go of her as the doors closed. Emma didn’t think it was the ascension causing that sinking feeling in her guts. 

The elevator opened its doors to a hall the size of Emma’s dorm. Regina gestured for her to follow as she made her way into the apartment. The omega tailed her, trying - and mostly failing - to contain the urge to look around, to make note of every detail she laid her eyes upon. 

“Wow, it’s huge,” Emma whispered as they came into a living room. A panoramic window offered them a beautiful view of the shining city below; Emma could even spot the park where Regina used to run. In daylight, maybe she’d be able to pinpoint the maple tree where they…  _ Don’t go there.  _ “Do you live here by yourself?”

“Yes,” Regina said, propping her wallet onto a sideboard, them getting rid off her watch. “It’s only me.”

“Don’t you get lonely?” The omega turned to look at the woman unbuttoning her cuffs and rolling her sleeves up to her elbows; it was an easy motion, the kind of routine she’d bet Regina performed every night. But to her eyes, it was almost a background music, to watch as she moved smoothly and calmly for once. “In such a big house?”

“Oh? I didn’t know small houses kept you company.”

“Regina Mills!” Emma covered her open mouth in mockery. “Was that _a_ _joke_?”

The alpha barely contained a smirk, her hand coming up to undo the top button on her collar. “Your foolishness must be rubbing off,” She replied, to Emma’s amusement. “Can I offer you something to drink?”

“Hmm, you have like a super expensive wine you keep for the special guests?” 

“Maybe, but alcohol is off the table, I’m afraid,” Regina said, coming to approach Emma at the center of the room. “I might have a super expensive grape juice, if you’d like.” She stopped a step away, her eyes roaming Emma, as if trying to fully capture the idea of her on that background.  _ Bringing the hooker home probably wasn’t on her plans.  _ Yet, the alpha didn’t look at her with any kind of contempt; nothing to make Emma feel like she didn’t belong. “How are you feeling? I can also make some coffee.”

“I’m fine,” Emma assured. “Not even that drunk anymore.” 

“I didn’t peg you for the party type,” She said in a lightly teasing tone.

“Well, guess I’m full of surprises,” Emma whispered. She didn’t see Regina moving closer, but now they were maybe ten inches apart.  _ Did I move closer? _ The alpha’s scent was running down her throat, prickling at the back of her neck. Was it really possible that Regina had brought her there with no intentions of taking her? Now it felt so nonsense… and unlikely. Because the woman was hard again. Emma didn’t even need to look down to know it. She saw it in her eyes, she  _ scented  _ it, she knew. 

“That you are, Ms. Swan,” Regina nodded slightly, her dark lips hypnotizing. “I’ll be right back.” She turned on her heels and walked away, leaving the omega adrift for half a second. Emma pressed a hand against her stomach, willing the ball of heat growing there to stay put, but feeling as it made its slow descent to her venter and lodged on her sex. From there, it was a moment until her whole body started to pulse in small ripples of heat. She felt her face growing warmer, her fingertips pumping, the veins on her neck bulging.  _ Shit.  _ She had to regain control before Regina came back.

Emma looked around, searching for anything that would distract her from herself. The city was beautiful, yada yada, but it wasn’t going to work. She walked around slowly, observing the paintings on the walls, the contemporary names on them. She fingered the wooden furniture, the sweet scent that came out of it reminding her too much of Regina’s to be of aid. And then there was the doorless cabinet, with its collection of statues and picture frames. 

“Emma?” Regina called softly from behind, but the girl didn’t turn around. She heard the alpha approaching, her whole body aware of each step, until she halted behind her. “Here,” The alpha offered her the juice in a fancy cristal glass, and Emma smiled. 

“Thanks,” She took it and sipped it absentmindedly. “Is this your dad?” She asked, pointing at a photo; in it, a maybe ten-years-old Regina posed next to a black horse, a huge golden medal hanging from her neck while a dark-haired man had an arm around her shoulders. They both had this full-on smile plastered on their faces.

“Yes,” Her voice still sounded from behind, making the hair on the back of Emma’s neck stand on end. “I ordered your awful pizza.”

“You guys have the same smile,” The omega went on. It was hard to picture such a vulnerable expression on the adult version she met. “Very different eyes, though. Must have gotten those from your mom.” 

There was a moment of silence, before the alpha sighed, “People seem to think so.”

“No pictures of her?” Emma looked up, seeking for it. 

“We’re not very close.”

Her tone was enough to make Emma move on. “And who are those?” She indicated the one with a group of giggling girls posing with their graduation gowns. 

“Friends from high school,” Was the answer. Emma snorted.

“Give me names. Give me anecdotes,” She demanded, sipping her juice again. The omega felt as Regina shifted behind her, maybe impatient, maybe just trying to accommodate the heaviness of being this close without touching. 

“This is Abigail,” Regina reached for the picture frame, her arm passing by the side of Emma’s head so her finger tapped at a blonde girl. “She dated this really nice guy, David - we all called him Prince Charming. But then, on the side, she went out with this other chap, who she  _ really  _ liked, because, allegedly, he was hard  _ all the time _ , like he was made of steel.”

Emma giggled into her cup, her face warming up. “More.”

“This is Mal,” She moved to the other blonde girl on the picture. “When she got really, really drunk, she’d make out a torch and blow vodka flames. It was the ultimate party trick.” 

“What a wild gang,” Emma whispered, smiling. “What was your part in it?” 

“I was the reasonable one, of course.” 

“Of course,” Emma mocked. Regina chuckled really softly over shoulder. The sound seemed to resonate for every cell of her body, and Emma put the glass down with a trembling hand. When she turned around to meet those dark, shimmering eyes, her heart was making its way up her throat. 

“Emma, don’t--” Regina breathed, but it was too late. 

Emma already wanted it too much, standing on her toes, pressing their mouths together, arms raised to enlace the alpha’s neck.  _ The other night  _ she had asked for it, and there were consequences - yet somehow the consequences seemed too feeble now. Emma bit on Regina’s lip, pulling it between her teeth, making a tiny sound that begged for her to let her in. 

“You drank…” The alpha said, voice strained, pained.

“I’m sober, I swear,” Emma vowed, fingers trailing up her nape, grabbing locks of hair. “I swear!”

Regina kissed her finally, grabbing her waist, crumpling Emma’s summer dress in a grip so tight it almost hurt. Emma arched against her, raising a leg to wrap around the woman’s hip as Regina slid a hand to her thigh, upping it under the dress, moving the skirt along. The alpha pinched her against the cabinet, the dress finally coming up enough so Regina could get between her legs. Emma sobbed as the bulge of Regina’s cock pressed against her panties; the warmth of it was enough to get her out of her mind. 

The alpha grabbed her other thigh from behind, pulling it up too, making her foot leave the ground until Emma was half propped on the cabinet, half hanging from Regina’s lap. The sturd furniture barely creaked as the omega charged against Regina’s erection, the picture frames and the crystal cup wobbling dangerously, though neither of them could seem to care. 

Regina pulled on Emma’s shoulder straps, slipping them down her shoulders and arms until her white strapless bra was exposed; she didn’t bother taking it off, instead pulling on a bra cup to rub the hard nipple under it. The blonde cried out against Regina’s tongue, which earned her a hard suck on the lower lip. The alpha pinched her nipple gently, one and the other, while her tongue conquered Emma’s mouth in steady, hungry motions. 

Emma pulled on the woman’s hair every second more desperately, feeling the lubrication pooling on her underwear, the harsh want in her guts increasing until it was all heat and urgency, her clit twitching at each stollen rub against Regina’s cock. Coming wasn’t even a choice - just as a volcano didn’t choose to erupt. Regina broke free of the kiss, her scalding mouth trailing down her neck, leaving Emma free to voice her orgasm in deep moans she couldn’t seem to stifle. 

The climax hit so hard it felt like a lightening, her body out of control, shivering in Regina’s arms, taken by her smell, her heat, her taste. The pleasure of it was so overwhelming Emma felt drugged, and then so clear-minded it would be scary, if she could think of anything other then how good it was. It felt like she was truly getting to know her body for the first time in her life; as if, all this time, she had had this superpower and never knew. She owned the universe, she was able to bend electricity, she felt so fucking  _ hot _ , she  _ exploded  _ and remained alive, she was a fucking goddess… At least for those few seconds. 

Then she was a woman again; an omega trembling in the arms of her alpha. 

“It’s ok, it’s ok…” Regina was whispering into her hair, and Emma realized slowly she was holding on too tight, face buried into the alpha’s shoulder, wheezing. “It’s ok,” Regina said, caressing her back. 

Emma loosened her grip a little, leaning back to meet Regina’s eyes. They watched her carefully, almost suspiciously, making the omega notice Regina had no idea if it was really ok. But it was. God, it was more than ok. She kissed her to prove it; softer this time.

“Sorry, I’m not used to this…” Emma murmured against her lips. 

“Maybe we are taking it too far,” Regina said gravely, though she didn’t pull away.

“Too far?” Emma grinned. “I think most people would call it  _ foreplay. _ ” This time the alpha tensed up, whatever easiness vanishing from her posture and face. Emma could read the trouble building in the deep of her eyes, the storm that always fell after their sunniest moments, and she tried to steel herself for it. 

She was saved by the bell. Literally. 

Regina frowned, looking perplexed for a moment. “It must be the pizza?” Emma ventured.

“Oh, right, yes. Yes, it must be.” They untangled awkwardly, Emma’s legs still wobbly when her feet reached the ground. “I’ll go get it.”

The omega nodded, straightening her clothes as Regina crossed to the hall and the room temperature suddenly dropped. She had been hungry when she arrived, but now the only thing she craved was Regina’s hands, and mouth and skin. Emma never considered herself a specially sexual person, and she had just had an amazing orgasm, but yet she didn’t feel satisfied. The raw idea that she wanted to come again - that she wanted Regina to make her come again - was enough to leave her embarrassed and aroused at once.

She retrieved her glass - miraculously intact - and gulped down half the juice, trying to cool the throbbing in her belly. Regina came back to find her sitting on the edge of the couch, doing her best not to squirm. The omega needed a moment to notice the pizza box on her hands, because the bulge on her pants required most of the attention. It hadn’t wavered a bit, so outlined by the cloth it was almost obscene. 

Regina cleared her throat, “I’m setting the table.” 

Emma looked up; she’d blush if her face wasn’t already so warm. “What? Why? It’s pizza.” Regina gave her an arched eyebrow as an answer, and Emma patted the center table in front of her. “We only need napkins.” 

“We’re not eating on the couch.” 

“Why not? I’m a college student, I make most of my meals in bed, and haven’t stained a sheet to this day,” Emma vowed, willing her eyes to stay on Regina’s face. “Come on, be a rebel!”

Regina snorted, “You’re cute when you try to be a bad influence.” Then she walked away, towards, Emma imagined, the kitchen. The omega bit back a grin as she followed.

“I’m still not using a plate,” She muttered as they entered the wide room and Regina left the box on the kitchen island. 

“I suppose we can settle with the counter,” Regina conceded, moving around to get napkins, cups and beverages, as Emma climbed a stool. If the huge hard-on was a bother, the alpha wasn’t showing, but Emma watched it across the kitchen, and it wasn’t going anywhere. 

“You never told me what crazy stuff you were known for in High School,” Emma said, opening the carton box to grab a slice of pizza. The smell of tuna and cheese made Regina wince a little, but to Emma it could barely mask the smell of the alpha. 

“I told you, I was never much of a rebel,” The woman said, taking a seat next to the blonde. “My mother was always very strict.” 

“Is that why you don’t have her around anymore? So she won’t be all over your shit?”

“That’s one reason,” Regina nodded. 

“This has always bugged me,” Emma mumbled between two bites. “How people say they don’t want their parents all up on them. It’s pretty easy to say it when you know they’ll just be there when you need, I guess.”

“I understand. But things get complicated.”

“‘Happy families are all alike’,” Emma quoted, mouth full, “‘every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way’.”

“Anna Karenina,” Regina provided, talking into her cup of water.

“Yeah, Tolstoy knew his shit,” Emma wiped her greasy fingers on a napkin. “But I guess for orphans it goes: they’re all unhappy alike.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sure I can’t fathom how hard it must have been for you.” People generally didn’t say this staring at her eyes, but Regina never looked away. “How old were you when it happened?”

“When what happened?”

“When you lost your parents.”

“Ah,” Emma let the air out. “I didn’t lose my parents. They just… got rid of me. By the side of a road, actually. Didn’t even bother to bring me to a hospital. I was like a day old.” 

“Oh, Emma,” Regina whispered. 

“It’s fine, I think… I’ve made peace with it now,” She looked up to Regina’s face, smiling a little. “You don’t have to feel sorry for me, I turned out  _ mostly  _ fine.”

“I believe you have the heart of a warrior,” Regina said, reaching up to touch her hand. All this time, Emma had had a few proofs the alpha knew how to be gentle, but this was the first time the woman was actually kind. It made something inside Emma crumble, and its wake waves of warm desire rushed in. 

“I have been battling the odds my whole life, so, who knows?” She shrugged.

“You weren’t adopted.”

“I was a sick kid,” Emma explained. “They don’t really put you up for adoption until you’re stable, and I wasn’t completely recovered until I was six or seven, and then I was just too old, I guess. Or maybe there was just something wro--” Regina hushed the words with a soft kiss. 

“There wasn’t,” She whispered, her breath so hot against Emma’s lips it stung. The omega gasped, thrusting her chin forward. 

“I want more…”

“I know,” Regina caressed her jawline with her knuckles, eyes darkening. Emma felt the blood pumping to her face, scalding her with shame. She thought she was being quite proper, discreet, even, and she was  _ sure  _ she wasn’t letting out half of the longing throbbing in her venter. “Your scent,” The alpha clarified then, the tiniest smirk on her lips. “It isn’t as subtle as you.”

“Well, you want more too,” Emma turned, raising a hand to Regina’s nape again. “Your cock isn’t subtle at all.” It was the alpha’s time to blush, and hell if it wasn’t the most tempting thing Emma had ever seen. “Doesn’t it hurt?” She teased, her free hand making way between them, landing on the hard-on pulsing just under a damned pair of pants. “Being hard all this time?”

“ _ Emma _ ,” The name came out hoarse, while a wave of redness climbed the alpha’s neck. 

“It must hurt,” She went on, pulling on the button that popped open; the poor thing had been probably barely holding the pressure from inside. “It hurts on me just to see it.” The zipper slid down in a rush. 

“Emma. Stop.” 

“Why?” She asked, though she did stop; she froze with her hand on Regina’s crotch, with their faces so close there was no hiding the blaze of lust in their eyes. 

“Because I…” The rest of the phrase never came out, and Emma smirked, hooking her fingers on Regina’s briefs and pulling on the rubber band until her erection sprang free. They both looked down, they both blushed thoroughly at the sight, but Emma was the only one whose mouth filled with water. 

Regina was so hard it was almost painful to watch, the tip reddish, already moist with lubrication, and the veins along her shaft bulging with need. Emma brushed a fingertip on the head, grazing over the slit there, and Regina quivered. There was nothing else for her to do but to get it into her mouth; her knees buckled almost instinctively. 

“Emma, don’t… You don’t have to do that,” Regina let out through strained breath, and Emma looked up to see the battle going on in her eyes. And then she understood it. 

“I know I don’t have to do it,” She said firmly. “You didn’t pay me to suck you off, so this has  _ nothing  _ to do with money, alright?” Regina swallowed hard, but there was no doubting Emma’s words. They were too far off to be able to lie to each other now. So she nodded.  

The moment she wrapped her lips around the head of Regina’s cock, any kind of reasonable thought was thrown out of the window. The whys and whats of the situation, of her very own existence, were mere details. All she cared about was the alpha in her grasp. 

Emma licked the tip, flicking her tongue at the slit and reaping the pearl of pre-come that made it out. Regina was sitting so still now she might as well have turned into a rock. The part of her Emma was occupied with surely seemed so. Her hand grabbed the base of her shaft, fingers making a tight ring around it before pumping up and down. The alpha was way too big to fit entirely in her mouth, but that didn’t mean Emma would neglect any part of it.

She sucked on the mast, bringing a stifled moan out of the alpha - which made her venter explode in fireworks. Emma hurriedly took more into her mouth, her tongue sliding underneath the shaft, savoring and rubbing and teasing. Her hand squeezed tighter on the base, testing the hardiness of her erection and feeling as it throbbed even more desperately in return. 

“ _ Easy _ ,” Regina croaked, tangling a hand into Emma’s hair and pulling on it gently. 

Emma didn’t care for easy; she wanted Regina’s come to fulfill her mouth and run down her throat until her guts felt at least a bit satisfied. Right now it felt as if there was a dark whole in the center on her being, and if she didn’t do something to fill it in, it would devour itself. 

She let go of the mast with one final suck, then tipped the cock sideways so she could lick it from the bottom to the top. Emma did so with famished brushes of her tongue, wet kisses and soft bites that made Regina pant harder. One side, then the other, then under it, where the skin was even softer and sensitive. She did it until there was a thin stream of pre-come running down the shaft, making it sleek and irresistible. 

Emma was well aware of how wet she was herself; her panties soaked thoroughly, her clit hard enough to be outlined against the cottom, quivering with a need so primal it made even her thighs throb painfully. She could only imagine how much of a perfect fit this dick would be, how easily it would slide in, fulfilling her to the bottom. The omega moaned, her voice vibrating on Regina’s hard-on, and she sucked fiercely to muffle the other sounds and pleads that wanted to come out.  

“Emma… Emma,  _ fuck _ ,” Regina cried out, spiraling out of control, her hips moving tightly to charge into Emma’s mouth. “ _ I’m coming _ ,” She warned with such a rough voice Emma got goosebumps. The omega was so eager for it she yelped in response, and then Regina came in her mouth, flooding her tongue with spurs of sperm, making Emma gulp down greedily and still feel droplets run down her chin and throat. 

It was close to magical the feeling she got from making Regina come. It was a pleasure so pure, so overwhelming she felt dizzy, light-headed. Every drop of come, every moan, gasp - just another proof that Emma had given her something, something good, something that was only theirs to share. Emma sucked on until Regina let out a small, defeated moan, though her erection had barely wavered. 

The alpha pulled softly on her hair and Emma stood again, on trembling knees, her body tense like the pulled string of a bow. And the way Regina looked at her… Emma could not ever explain it. She had never felt more like an omega than in that moment. Regina looked at her like an alpha that was about to claim what belonged to her. The hunger in those eyes was so clear it made Emma’s skin prickle and her insides melt, twisting in absolute surrender. She wanted Regina so bad her skin seemed to riple with heat and greed. They’d fuck, they’d fuck so hard and so good a month would go by in a moment. Years would pass and they wouldn't notice. As long as Regina got inside of her, the time would mean nothing.

_ Maybe we are taking it too far.  _ The sentence echoed in her mind, then clicked. 

If Regina claimed her tonight, if they fucked - the time wouldn’t stop. Not a month, not years, not even the week. If that happened, their time… would be over. They’d do it once. Once was what had been agreed upon. Maybe twice, three times on a roll, while they were at it. Maybe they’d do it again, if Emma offered herself, while her heat was on. Maybe. Maybe not even that. Because they were there for a very specific reason - Regina had bought her first mate. That was her main interest, and who was to say she would have any other, once she had fulfilled her wish?

But it wasn’t only that either, was it? 

Emma wanted to - she wanted to mate with Regina, she wanted it so much. And she couldn’t conceive a context where she wouldn’t want more, after. Where she’d gladly grab her things and go. But she was a hooker, and that was that. If they mated now, it was because Regina paid for it. And then what? Where else they could possibly go from there? Would Regina even believe Emma had done it because she  _ wanted  _ to? 

_ Maybe we are taking it too far.  _ That’s what Regina was really talking about, wasn’t it? They were trespassing too much their previous deal. And although Emma had been so sure it would only make things easier… now it all seemed too tough.

_ I can’t. I can’t deal with this right now. It’s too much. It’s too much.  _

“I’m not peaking yet,” Emma breathed, making Regina blink at her. 

“Wha…?”

“I’m not… My heat is not… You’re not taking me tonight, right? Because I’m not…”

“Emma.” 

“You won’t take me tonight,” She repeated, crumpling Regina’s shirt in her hand. The alpha stared her dead in the eyes, the fire burning in there holding mysteries of its own.

“No, I won’t take you,” Regina whispered after a moment.

“You won’t take me tonight,” Emma held her tighter. 

“I won’t.”

“You won’t.”

“I won’t, I promise you,” Regina said at last, and Emma pulled her in for a restless kiss. 

“Then I think I should go,” The omega gasped between her lips. Regina’s arms were around her so tight Emma could barely breathe.

“Can you?” Regina asked, reading her face for the answer. “Can you go like this?”

Emma swallowed hard. There was a bomb ready to go off between her legs, and her insides seemed made of lava. Her clit was still so hard she couldn’t keep her tights really shut, and there was at least one wet line of lubrication crossing down her thigh. Regina seemed to know all of that really well, her dark eyes shining as she waited for the answer. Emma shook her head slowly. 

“Let me help, then we’ll get you home… How does that sound?” Regina held her gaze as her hands went under Emma’s dress and pushed the panties down. It slipped to the floor, a soaked, ruined piece of cotton. More threads of lubrication ran down, now free of the cloth barrier. Emma blushed, her sex begging for the woman’s touch as her mind still bothered with thinking  _ I’m so wet she’ll think I’m a lunatic.  _ “Emma?” The alpha called. “Do you want me to…?”

“Yes, yes,  _ please _ ,” She yelped as Regina’s hand climbed up her thigh, fingering a few of the glistening strings of wetness. When a fingertip brushed her clit, Emma threw herself at the alpha, burying her face into the woman’s neck and sinking her teeth on her shoulder to restrain herself from screaming. 

“Look at me,” Regina said.

“No…” Emma gasped, another flow of wetness running down to flood the woman’s palm. Regina’s middle finger grazed over her swollen clit then stopped. 

“Look at me, Emma.” 

“Regina, please…” She whined, trying to rub herself against the woman’s hand, that was fleeting like a butterfly.

“ _ Look at me _ .” 

Emma grunted, the need overcoming the embarrassment, then retreated a few inches to look at the alpha. Regina rested her forehead against the blonde’s for less than a second, their noses brushing, just this tiny, barely-there moment of pure kindness, before she broke apart so they could really look each other in the eyes. 

And what Emma saw in that face made her forget any idea of shame. There was nothing shameful about it; Regina felt the same kind of animal, over the top need. Emma’s body was just a conduit for some kind of primal, universal energy. And there was absolutely nothing wrong in the way it expressed it. There was nothing wrong with wanting it so bad. All this she saw as she looked at Regina; all this she knew in those unearthly moments. “Yes, yes, look at me…” The alpha mouthed while her fingers worked some dark magic between Emma’s legs. And the omega obeyed. She looked at her, she did… she was still looking at her when she came.


	4. Brutal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. It took me a little longer than usual to get this ready, because I wasn't sure how to steer the fic towards the end. If this chapter seems like a kind of filler, I'm sorry, but at least I got you some smut! hehe I promise more plot development, more heat and more cuteness on the next one. I hope you stay to see it. :)

Nobody told her it would be like this. Nobody told her about the pain. It certainly wasn’t how it was portrayed in fiction, and even the real-life omegas she knew never mentioned it could feel this way. Ruby always talked about the heat like it was some kind of blessing, the greatest periods of each year, something full of pleasure and thrills. 

It seemed they had collectively forgot to warn about how awful it could also feel - if you were going through it alone.

_ They didn’t forget _ , Emma thought bitterly,  _ they just didn’t consider someone would be stupid enough to not take suppressors and not mate either.  _

She held on tighter to her pillow as another wave of heat coursed through her body, making cold sweat pool between her breasts and the sheets feel rough against her sensitive skin. The space between her legs throbbed like a bomb in a cartoon, and her whole lower body felt clenched and sore. 

Emma tried to contain a sob as she pushed the pillow down and straddled it, feeling defeated as her hips moved desperately to rub against the soft fabric. Her nails bit on the mattress and she pressed her face against it to muffle the painful groans that followed the orgasm. The relief wasn’t going to last - by now she knew so - but it allowed her to roll onto her back and take a deep breath. 

God, she was thirsty. And hungry. She looked around the dorm that felt like a fucking bunker; all closed up, with scarce supriments piled up on her bedside table. She was down to half a bottle of water and a cereal bar. Great. 

_ I swear to God if I ever write about heats, I’ll let the omegas out there know. They’ll know to stock food and water.  _

Then again, the other omegas out there going through heats had alphas with them. According to every romance novel she had ever read, it was the alpha’s job to keep the omega healthy, safe and satisfied during those times. Lovely.

As if on cue, her phone bipped on the nightstand. The particular bip she had set to Regina’s number. Another bright idea, she realized now - the sole bip made her clit pulse again. Emma felt her cheeks warm with embarrassment, even though she was alone in there. Another bip echoed and she couldn’t help but squirm in bed. Shit. Shit, that hadn’t lasted long at all. Two more bips followed, and Emma reached for the phone. The mere thought of unlocking the screen and glancing at Regina’s picture on WhatsApp was enough to give her chills. And yes, she was aware of how absurd it was. 

That kind of reaction was just the reason why she had kept her distance for the last couple of days. Everytime they were talking, her body seemed to get out of control, until she found herself typing and erasing messages like “I need to see you, I need you to touch me again”. And typing kept getting easier and erasing got harder. It was a fucking miracle she hadn’t pressed send once. 

“Hello, Emma.” The first message said. Regina was very fond of punctuating her texts. “How are you feeling today?”, it followed.  _ Like shit.  _

“I was wondering if you would like to meet.”

“Only to have dinner and talk, if you don’t have any plans.” Emma snorted as she read. That was the alpha’s way of making clear she wasn’t claiming her right yet. 

“Fuck,  _ would  _ I like to meet you,” She whispered to herself. Her body responded as well, tensing up. Her grip on the phone tightened until her fingers hurt. She forced herself not to give in to the urge to say yes, yes, with capital letters, yes, please. The idea of meeting Regina was so glorious in her mind; it evoked all the feels of their last encounter, the scents and textures, the looks, the kisses and the pleasure of being in her arms. It had felt like a dream, and not only a sex dream, what was why it had also felt dangerous. 

Anyway she needed to text back, she wasn’t about to ignore Regina, but first… 

_ Jesus, stop blushing, nobody’s here to see what a mess you are. _

Emma slipped her free hand between her legs, fingering the inside of her thighs lightly before finding the rigid, sore spot screaming for attention. She needed to clear her mind at least a little before she could properly answer, that was it. It had nothing to do with the fact that this moment - before she answered - was a delightful window of possibilities. 

Emma rubbed her clit in soft circles, while in her mind she typed  _ sure, I’m free tonight.  _ In her mind, Regina waited for her with a tall glass of wine they never drank. In her mind, this time she met a few more rooms on that huge apartment. In her mind, Regina gave up on waiting and led her to bed… 

_ “Oh, shit!”  _ Emma panted as the orgasm hit, coming hard and wetly, her clit twitching under her touch. God, they had not made it to bed even on Emma’s fantasy. She really was a mess.

She stood gasping for a few seconds, waiting for the relief to sink in, but it was even fainter this time. Well, it would have to be enough. Regina didn’t like to be kept waiting. 

Emma re-read the messages, her guts tight. They had started texting each other kind of frequently after the last time they met. True, they had been very careful not to touch on complicated subjects such as what the fuck was going on between them. They didn’t talk heats, they didn’t talk mates, but they talked about everything else. Books, movies, friends, work, hopes and dreams. Emma never mentioned the changes her body was going through. How it was getting really uncomfortable to get out of the dorm, not only because people picked up on her scent very quickly now - it didn’t matter how much cloak-cologne she used - but because her own organism resented getting out of bed. She sure didn’t mention how the urge to touch herself was raising fast, to the point she found herself doing it in public bathrooms more than once in the past week. Emma didn’t tell her she had at last given up going outside, because she could barely walk or sit anywhere without her sex going crazy. And she didn’t tell Regina that touching herself was becoming far from enough, that she longed for something more, for much more, and that everyday she denied her body that, it hurt. 

“Hey”, She finally typed. “I’d love to meet you, really. But I’m kinda feeling under the weather.”

“Oh. What is it?”

Emma took a shaky breath. How could she explain it without sounding as pathetic as she felt? 

“I think it’s just the cycle?” She wrote. “I still have like two weeks until peak, but I’m not used to it, so it kinda got me bad”.

The three little dots blinked a few times, but no new message came in for a whole minute. “I’m sorry to insist, but I’d really like to meet you. We should talk.” 

This kind of message would normally freak Emma out, but by now she was used to Regina’s intense way of speaking. This didn’t necessarily meant a problem at all, but it could mean the woman wanted to measure for herself how far gone her cycle was. Maybe she was considering to anticipate their business. This possibility made such a knot on Emma’s mind she couldn’t seem to start untangling it. She knew where her body stood on the matter, but she was more than just her body, even now. And for some reason, the idea that Regina would take her at once and be over with it made her chest hurt harder than her venter.

“It’s alright”, Emma replied carefully. “We can talk whenever you want, I’m all ears. But as for meeting…”  _ Am I really going to do this? Am I really going to give us this ultimatum?  _ “I’m not feeling very confident in the idea of going out, and I’m not sure it would be helpful to any of us to meet now, unless you’ve changed your mind about waiting.” 

This time, the three dots didn’t even show. She had made Regina Mills speechless. No kidding; it was the first time Emma had used her prerogative of denying an encounter unless the alpha meant business. She might have worded it politely, but it still said: I won’t meet you until you’ve decided to fuck me.

There was so much Emma wanted to follow that message with. She wanted to explain she wasn’t being a brat, and she hadn’t lost interest, on the contraire. Emma wanted to say she didn’t know if she could handle herself next to the alpha, that she was afraid of the things she might say or do. She wanted to explain it felt like her body would break if they met and Regina didn’t touch her. And she wanted to say she realized she needed to make peace with the idea that their mating was a business agreement, that it would not only be the glorious fulfillment her body was craving, but also the definitive line-cross that made her a prostitute. She’d be Regina’s prostitute. And what else could she be to Regina after that?   

All this she wanted to say, but didn’t. Because although it felt like a dream sometimes, it wasn’t one. 

“I understand.” Regina texted. Emma replied with an emoji and a gif, what usually exasperated the alpha a bit, but this time the conversation ended like this, abruptly. The omega didn’t insist; it hurt too much. And also, she needed her hands.

* * *

 

Regina felt like a stalker, standing on the hallway staring at the doors ornated with posters of old bands or new cartoons. The place looked empty, sounded empty, probably  _ was  _ empty, since it was the middle of summer vacations. She had asked a young man about Emma’s room number, but now she realized it wouldn’t had been that hard to find, anyway. The alpha could already  _ smell  _ Emma, for God’s sake. 

Of course she should not be there. It was disrespectful, to say the least. Regina had admonished herself all the way down to the university, but had that stopped her from getting out of the car? No. She told herself the intentions behind it were good; she was worried about Emma. The omega had mentioned her discomfort with leaving the house, and that was a symptome of nesting. Sure, it was early for that, and Regina had to consider Emma had exaggerated the situation to dismiss her more politely - but it could also be the truth. In that case, Regina had to check on her. The girl was alone, her friends were away for the summer, and she didn’t have anyone to take care of her in that time of need… or did she?

_ No, that is not why I’m here. I did not come to pry!  _

But she  _ had  _ come to pry. And she  _ had  _ come because she was worried. She could not deny one reason more than the other. But the biggest reason, the one that had truly defeated her better judgement and made her put one foot in front of the other until that point, was the way Emma’s text had made her feel.

Oh, Regina wasn’t ready for that. She had not seen it coming, and it striked her like a cannonball. The alpha had made such a great job of ignoring the complexities of their situation… they fought, they kissed, they talked, and she pushed aside the fact she had paid for something else, she had paid and thus put Emma in a weird position. Now it felt like she was trying to draw a line on quicksand. 

Anyway, it all came down to the fact she could not accept she had met Emma Swan for the last time. Because if the omega said they would now only meet to mate, and Regina had no intention of mating her, then… they would never meet again. And it had just been too sudden, like a band-aid ripped from a still-open wound. Regina could not let things go this way. 

At least, at the very least, Emma deserved to hear in person that the alpha was not going to carry out their agreement. They deserved to look at each other’s eyes as they said goodbyes. Regina wanted to wish her a bright future, a great life. If nothing else, at least this. And time now wasn’t their friend; it would only get worse, more painful, so she had to do it fast. 

Regina just had to see Emma.

She knocked on the door, then straightened invisible wrinkles on her shirt. Emma’s scent wafted from under the door, light but so alluring it warmed the alpha’s blood. She closed her hands in fists, trying to remain composed. Not a sound came from inside. She imagined Emma wasn’t in the mood to answer the door, but Regina had come too far already. She knocked again.

“Emma?” She called, her voice low, close to the door. “It’s Regina. Regina Mills.”

“Regina?” The reply came immediately, pitchy. “What…? What are you doing here?”

The alpha now heard steps, rustling, a closet door creaking.

“I’m sorry to turn out uninvited, but… I really need to… Can we talk? It’ll only be a minute.”  _ Liar. You can’t end this in a minute. You can’t let her go in a minute. _

There was a moment of silence, then her voice sounded again, hesitant, quiet, just across the door. “I’m not really presentable…”

Regina grinned in spite of herself. “I think I can handle it, Ms. Swan.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” She replied. The door creaked open, just a slit. “I don’t know about myself, though.” Emma’s face appeared behind the chained gap of the door. Her scent rushed out like a wave, spreading chills up Regina’s arms, raising every hair on her nape. She stared at those green eyes, the pupils large, glimmering. What was this feeling? Was it possible she had actually missed Emma?

“Can I come in?” The alpha asked, glancing at the chain. 

“Not a good idea. I can’t vouch for your safety.” Emma’s voice sounded hoarse, even a little strained, though she tried to be funny. Regina could see she had hurriedly held her hair in a bun and was wearing unmatched clothes, her cheeks pink and getting pinkier. The alpha had interrupted something - and she had a clue of what.

“I can take care of myself,” Regina assured, moving to step closer, though there wasn't any space left. She was already against the door, her hands itching to grab Emma through the narrow slit. “I can take care of you.”

Emma seemed to sway a little on the other side, her lips going from pink to a deep red, and her grasp on the doorframe tightened. Everything about her attracted Regina, including the purplish circles around the omega’s eyes and the sharpness of her more prominent cheekbones that spoke about sleepless nights and exhaustion. She needed to be tended to, in many ways. And Regina could resist to many urges, but not to this one.

“So we’re not waiting?” Emma whispered.

“There are many things I can do to make you feel better, dear,” The woman replied. “Let me in.”

“I can’t… I can’t talk right now, I feel weird all the time, and my head just… I can’t really focus, so…” 

The omega was straining now, and Regina felt it contaminating her as well. Emma’s scent made Regina’s heart become a thunderous thing in her chest, and she had an idea her own scent must have risen to the challenge, because the girl’s eyes were clouded now, her legs pressed together as she fought to remain collected. 

“It’s alright. We’ll talk later. Let me in.” She pressed, cursing inside her head for speaking like that; it was half an order, half a plead, and both things were bad.

Emma shut the door on her face. 

For a second, Regina stood there, helpless, her heart and cock competing to see which one could pester her the most. And then the door was opened and Emma laid trembling in front of her, looking dizzy and vulnerable and gorgeous.

Every carefully crafted reason to go there vanished from Regina’s mind. All the important things she had to say, the misunderstandings she had to clarify… the final point she had to drop at the end of their story. It vanished. She stepped in and threw her arms around Emma, holding her tight against her chest. The sound the omega let out was hungry and painful as the door slammed shut behind them. 

Emma’s heated mouth climbed Regina’s neck in wet, hard kisses, tracing a line to her lips. The alpha pulled her closer, kissed her deeper, filling Emma’s mouth with her demanding tongue. The girl all but melted against her, the sweetest, most tempting thing she could do, and then she broke apart, pushing Regina by the shoulders with her palms while her fingers sank into her skin like claws.

“You have to go,” She panted, a vein popping on her forehead as if keeping the alpha at bay demanded an incredible amount of strength.

“I’ll go if you really want me to,” Regina complied, barely needing to look around to apprehend the situation; the windows shut, the piles of books, cookie packages and water bottles surrounding the unmade bed. Emma had been locked up in there for a while, and ‘unprepared’ was an understatement for how equipped she was to deal with what was coming.

“I don’t want you to see me like this,” Emma whispered.

“How?” Regina cocked her head, resting both hands on Emma’s hips. The omega hissed as if the touch burned, her face becoming an urgent tone of purple as she forced her body to stand still. 

“Stupid,” She uttered. “Not really in control? I don’t  _ know! _ ” 

“I’d never do anything against your will,” The alpha said in a firm voice. “I swear.” She hoped the angry throb of her cock just below her navel didn’t testify against her.

Emma looked up into her eyes, the pupils devouring the green, the darkness expanding as if the urge burning inside her was leaving scorched land behind. “It’s not  _ you _ I don’t trust.”

The words took a moment to sink in, and then Regina grinned, fully grinned - the type of thing she rarely felt like doing and would generally suppress, otherwise. But there was little she could suppress now, and every single sparkle of feeling or sensation Emma Swan caused was hers to harvest. “Oh, Emma,” She murmured. 

The alpha span around until she could press Emma against the door, the hands on her hips turning possessive as they slipped to the swell of her ass and grabbed hard. Emma gasped and laid her head against the door as Regina dove in on the curve of her bare neck, nibbling on the sensitive skin below the ear. The hands on Regina’s shoulders slid down her back, the nails leaving burning trails even over the shirt, and the scent coming off that omega exploded into a cloud of unending lust. 

“I will take care of you,” Regina promised by her ear, doing her best to keep her hands quiet now, though they wanted to get rid of every piece of cloth to run through every bit of skin. 

“Yes… No. Ugh. No, you don’t have to.”

The alpha backed an inch to have another look at those dark-forest eyes that were much more honest than Emma’s words. She brushed their lips together until Emma opened her mouth, wanting. “So you say you can take care of yourself?” She asked. The tip of Emma’s tongue flicked her upper lip in response. “Emma?”

“I… yes, I can, I will…” But she made no attempt to part from the alpha.

“Are you wearing anything under this?” Regina said, palms still pressing her ass. She felt the warmth of the skin under the sweatpants, but there was no underwear outline. Emma blushed deeply, even the darkened skin around her eyes acquiring this cute pinkish tone. It was all the answer she needed. “Why not?”

“I was… in bed when you… knocked…” 

The woman looked over her shoulder to the bed. She knew very well Emma had been in there, probably hadn't stepped out of it in a while. Her eyes roamed it quickly, her temples pulsing as they landed on the pillow lost in the middle of the mattress, far from the other two at the headboard.

“Show me,” Regina said, turning back to face the girl.

“What?”

“If you want me to leave, I have to know you can take care of yourself,” She explained, quite proud of how even her voice sounded. She fingered the waistband of Emma’s pants and when the omega didn’t complain, she pushed it down her legs. 

“I don’t understand…” Swan lied softly. Regina bit her lip, a tender bite, her hands barely brushing Emma’s naked thighs but thoroughly feeling the shudder it caused. 

“Show me. I want to know how you do it.” She led Emma to the bed while she kissed her jawline, following the faint moves of Emma’s faint arguments. In that tiny room, two steps got them there, and Regina turned her to face the bed and stood behind her, her hard-on pressed against the omega’s now bare ass.   

One hand laid flat against the omega’s stomach as she raised the other to hold her chin delicately. Emma closed her eyes and let her head fall back to Regina’s shoulder, her breath catching. 

“I know you need it,” Regina teased in soft words. “I know it hurts when you refuse to do it. It must be hurting right  _ now _ .” Emma’s response was to press her lips tight, but Regina felt her abdomen clenching under the shirt and used her hold on the omega’s jaw to turn her face to the side where their mouths could almost meet. “See why I worry?” 

Emma let out a shaky agreement. 

“Then you understand why I need to make sure,” The alpha went on. Emma felt feverish against her and Regina could almost  _ taste  _ the need mounting inside her. She couldn’t keep this up much longer either, but she wouldn’t have to - Emma wanted to do it, and the embarrassment would crumble any second now. “Show me how you take care of yourself. Go.”

She let go of Emma carefully, but still her knees seemed to falter for a moment when Regina stepped back, and she leaned forward to the bed in search of stability. The urge to immediately hold her again was strong enough to make the alpha swing on her feet, but at last she stood her ground. Emma climbed the bed almost absentmindedly - an omega trying to find some comfort in her nest -, but there was no comfort to be found at this point, and she looked back to Regina who stood staring, eyes devouring her naked legs, her butt, the glimpses of her swollen sex. 

The need must have been eating her from the inside out, the simple, instinctive need of release, because although she was flushed from neck to ears, Emma averted her eyes again and straddled the pillow - with some familiarity, the alpha noticed. The groan that came out of her was part protest, but that did not prevent her from riding. Regina kept very still, her cock pounding monstrously now as she watched Emma’s thighs pressing the pillow between them as if it was the body of a hearty lover. Every charge against the cushion was a louder thump at the alpha’s temples, and then Emma fell forward, bolstering herself on both hands to rub harder, her tight ass contracting as she rode in despair. When she started to come, Regina had to stiffen every muscle under her control to stop her own orgasm from taking over - even breathing seemed dangerous, the air a toxic cloud of omega glamour.

Emma came to a stop gasping for air, then swallowing hard as if she was containing sobs and unwanted tears. The alpha gulped too before approaching the bed again. Her throat felt sore, and she wasn’t sure the voice would come out when she said, “Did it help?” 

Emma raised her head and the loose bun came undone, the locks of golden hair falling around her shoulders in a sexy mess. She shook her head no, her lips of a deep red moist from her tongue. They were past the point of faking now. Regina’s heart was a storm ready to burst the dome of her chest. 

“And do you know why not?” This time, Emma shook her head yes. Not one word, and Regina’s whole body rose in a shiver. She grabbed the pillow and threw it aside, not missing how the omega quivered when it made its way from under her. Then she pulled at the front of Emma’s shirt, and she came forward, no resistance, she just leaned forward, whispering a dainty “Yes” as the alpha tangled a hand in her hair and kissed her again. 

Regina broke apart for a second as she pulled the shirt out of that lean body and kicked the shoes from her own feet before climbing the bed. Emma pulled her closer as she laid on her back, and the alpha laid on top of her, the sensations escalating. It was the first time they got horizontal, the first time Regina had her in a bed, and it was so far from whatever she had fantasized - that single, messy bed in a college dorm room - but now it did not matter in the least. Any place where Emma rested was its own universe. 

The girl sneaked a hand between them, unbuttoning Regina’s jeans, what led the zipper under pressure to slide down at once and her erection to pop out, throbbing in its new freedom. The alpha swore under her breath when a jolt ran through her hard-on and almost pushed her off the edge, and she hurried to capture Emma’s wrists, locking them over her head. “Be a good girl now,” She hissed to the omega trying to bite her lips out of protest, but Emma wasn’t having it, buckling under her so their hips would confront. “ _ Emma _ .” Regina said through her teeth, before deciding it was not going to work.

She moved to the side and stuck an arm under Emma, using it to pull her waist and roll her on her stomach in one swift move. “Reg-- wait…” She started a second too late, when her hands were once more restrained over her head and the weight of Regina’s body kept her from moving. “I want…” 

“Open your legs.”

“...touch you…”

“Emma. Open your legs.” 

The omega obeyed at last, parting her legs for the hand that slid between her thighs, for the fingers that brushed her outer lips and felt the thick lubrication covering them. Emma flinched very lightly when the touch crossed to her inner lips, making Regina aware of how much she had worked it in the last few days - she was already a bit sore. Emma moaned from the back of her throat, trying to coax the alpha into going faster, harder, into doing something other than feed the fire there. 

Regina wanted to get rid of her jeans, boxers, anything that separated them - she wanted to guide herself in, feel the welcome of Emma’s body, how it would clench around her inviting her to stay. Instead, the tip of her middle finger caressed Emma’s entry, more of a tease than a satisfaction, and when the omega threatened to start sobbing again, Regina finally touched her clit, finding it hard as a rock, pumping below her touch as the omega shook under her body, her fists holding the sheets for dear life. Emma rolled her hips wildly, trying to reap every bit of Regina’s touch, her ass perking up as she moved, driving the alpha mad with the profusion of sensations and sights. 

They were both barely aware of the omega’s first orgasm, since it came and went in a whirlwind that left none of them minimally satisfied. The second one was greater, and Regina followed as Emma moaned her way up, up, until the apex, only to throw herself off of it into a third climax that looked like the power peak before a blackout and defeated the alpha into coming in her boxers as well. 

At last Emma relaxed, her whole body softening, the muscles melting from their tense state, her head resting against the pillows as the hands unclosed and freed the sheets. Regina laid by her side, touched her hair gently and kissed her shoulder, entranced by the moment, by the beauty of it, too far gone to stop herself from being intimate. 

“This was  _ so… _ ” Emma mumbled. She never finished the sentence.

“Are you feeling better?” Regina asked, starting to collect herself as the blood flowed upwards, for a change. 

“I feel amazing,” She replied, turning to gaze at the alpha, rosy-cheeked. “Did you…? I didn't even… I’m sorry…”

“Stop apologizing,” Regina interrupted. “I should had thought this through. It is your first cycle, and I should have been more thoughtful.” 

“This is literally not your job.” She pulled up a sheet to cover herself, but other than that didn’t move to get away from the alpha, nor gestured that Regina should.  

“Come home with me.”

“What?” She smiled, narrowing her eyes as if the woman was being silly. 

“I want to take care of you, and I am sure it would be more comfortable if we were at my place.”

“Don’t belittle my dorm, it’s pretty… cozy.”

“I am not kidding, Emma.”

“Of course you are.”

“I will not leave you alone like this,” She stated, holding Emma’s gaze. Now that they were somewhat rational again, Regina’s trains of thought started to come back. Of course she ruined the whole point of going there; she could not, by now, even truly  _ remember _ the main point of going there. 

She had meant to tell Emma the whole truth, right? But  _ the truth _ was that she had been blindsided by the situation. On a regular cycle, she’d have a week, maybe ten more days before it reached this point - but the nesting, the hunger, the chronic insatisfaction, it all told her it was already too late. She had lead Emma on for too long, and now the time for suppressors of any kind was overdue. So what choice did she have? To leave the girl to go through this alone? To leave her vulnerable for any horny alpha that followed her scent to that door?

No. No way. She would see this through. If Emma wanted to be touched and cared for, Regina would do so. If she only wanted a comfortable place to go through the heat by herself, Regina would provide it. If Emma needed to be tended to, Regina would be glad to do it. However, under any circumstance they would mate. 

The alpha was not naive; she had been around omega’s on heat before, and she knew how wild it got. And none of them had half the allurement power Emma Swan had. She was well aware of that. Yet, in the end of the day, Regina trusted herself to do the right thing for Emma. She trusted herself - and no one else. She would make her cycle easier, but would not take advantage of it. And once it was over, Emma would be ready to move on with her life again and find the mate she deserved.

Once it was over, Emma would go.

But not until it was over.

In the end, it was not a matter of making Emma want to go - it was only natural that she wanted to stay close, that she wanted what made her relaxed and satisfied. The omega only needed to make sure  _ Regina  _ really wanted her to go, and was not being moved by some kind of horny chivalry. So, after some back and forth, Emma packed -  _ for a few days, just until I get the hang of it _ -, and Regina stood really close as they walked down to the car. 

“How long till there?” Emma asked once Regina closed the driver’s door and gestured to get the seatbelt. 

“Twenty minutes, at best.”

“Twenty. Right.” She sounded unease, and the alpha glanced at the passenger’s seat to spot the girl pulling nervously at the hem of her dress.

“I’ll make it fifteen,” She said, and Emma gave her a thankful smile.

Regina drove away, trying to shake the voice inside her head that insisted to remember how her state of mind had improved in the last half an hour. The drive down to the university had passed far from that easy ride she was having now. 

“Thanks for showing up,” Emma said, her hand resting for a fleeting moment at Regina’s knee. It lasted a second, but the image stuck at the alpha’s mind - that simple picture of having someone’s hand on your leg as you drive. The immensely complex feeling of completude it brought. 

“You should’ve had told me.”

“I didn’t know how,” The girl replied. “This is all still weird to me.”

“You don’t have to face everything alone, Emma.” How ironic it was for Regina Mills to give this advice. Most people that knew her would snicker at it. 

“I thought the problem would be the scent, you know. So I just planned to stay in my room, have a look at my projects… Arthur said he’s got someone from Random House reading my novel, did I mention it?” She halted for a second, took a shallow breath. “It made me want to change everything about it, but I guess it’s too late now.” 

“Oh, that novel you never sent me?”

Emma offered her a sheepish smile, adjusting herself on the seat. “I’ll send you… if you promise… not to show it to anyone.”

“Well, if I really enjoy it…”

“You’ll tell me. And I’ll be very happy.” Regina averted her eyes from the traffic for a moment, watching as Emma’s sentences got as short as her breathing. “But that’s it. The rest is my business. Promise?”

“There’s no need to be this proud, you know? As far as I’m concerned, the publishing market is all about having the right contacts.”

“I’m not proud.” Emma squirmed discreetly again. “You of all people. Should know. I do what it takes. But this is something… I want to do by myself.”

The alpha nodded at last, a warmth flowering in her guts. “I promise, then. But I’d still love to read it.” 

Emma smiled and touched her knee again. Her hand stayed for a moment longer this time, the palm much warmer now, teasing at the skin under the jeans. Regina stole another glance at the passenger’s seat, capturing the hand holding tight to the door panel, the knuckles becoming white. 

“How is it?” She asked, not bothering to explain further. Emma bit on her lower lip and took a deep breath.

“Fine…”

“We’ll arrive soon.”

Emma nodded, but from the deep of her throat came a soft, soft moan. Regina felt the chill running down her spine, her cock springing to life again, what caused Emma to curse under her breath. “Not helpful.”

“Your scent…” The alpha started, fighting the warmth growing on her face.

“ _ Your _ scent!” Emma argued, pressing her legs together. “Shit. This is  _ embarrassing _ .”

“It’s perfectly natural,” Regina replied, though her own body felt like rebelling, barely contained by reasonable thought. 

“It’s perfectly  _ brutal _ .”

It  _ was  _ brutal; the raw attraction they exerted on each other, the sheer necessity they aroused, the pain that came from even trying to resist. The alpha hadn’t felt this way for decades, and her experiences would everytime prove futile when it came to Emma Swan. 

She extended a hand to the omega’s dress, pulling up the hem to nude the pale thigh under it. Emma shivered, her breath halting for a second. “Regina…”

“It’s alright.”

“You’re driving.”

“I can multitask,” She said as her fingers moved up Emma’s leg, tracing the v at the end of it. “You will have to get rid of your panties.”

“I can wait.” Emma whispered.

Regina kept her eyes on the road. “Ok then.” They stood in a electrified silence for thirty seconds, until a pair of yellow cotton panties landed on the alpha’s lap. 

“I’m ruining your leather seat,” Emma said in a voice hoarse enough to raise every hair on Regina’s body.

“Spread your legs.” There was no arguing this time. “God, you are so…”

“Keep your eyes on the road.”

“Raise your dress. Guide my hand, will you?”

“Shit…” Emma gasped. “Here.”

“Like this?”

“Ah.  _ Fuck _ .”

“Emma…”

“Eyes.  _ Road _ .” She was wet, so very wet, hips convulsing against Regina’s hand in frenzy. “I’m coming,” She warned, though the alpha could hardly miss it. Emma moaned through gritted teeth as she flooded the car seat with her come. 

Regina waited for the shuddering to ease, her shaft thumping against the jeans again. 

“We’re here.” She whispered when Emma finally let go of her hand, and they stood in front of the large garage gates. “Think you can handle the elevator ride?”

Emma stared at her from under her lashes, a wicked kind of stare that covered the spots of shame glowing on her cheeks. “I’ll do my best.”   
  



	5. Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. Let me start by thanking the amazing response I've gotten from you in the last chapter. I appreciate all the reviews and feedbacks. <3 It keeps me writing. ;) I also wanted to let you know next chapter will be the last - I initially thought this would be a 7 chapters fic, but I don't want to stretch the plot much longer.  
> This chapter is pretty long, though, and I warn you to not read it in public. haha Hope you enjoy it and let me know your thoughts.

**Day one**

A strange feeling came over Emma once the elevator reached Regina’s hall. It was such a fancy place, the kind of home she saw on magazines or tv shows. Regina had said they’d be more comfortable there, and it might be true, but when the scent of furniture polish wafted from the living room, she had this feeling that Regina was never _really_ comfortable in there, that it wasn’t a home. And along with it came this even stranger will to make it one - at least for the next couple days.

“I’ll show you the guest room,” The alpha motioned her forward, and Emma nodded, adjusting the backpack on her shoulder.

Regina led her through a wide corridor and seemed to choose a door at random from the four or five lined in there, then stepped aside to let Emma in.

“The sheets are clean,” She started as the omega walked in and looked around, dropping the bag on the queen-sized bed. “That door leads to the suite,” She went on. “And there is a small balcony behind those curtains.”

“Ok…” Emma sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at the woman still on the threshold. “Why are you acting like a real estate agent?”

“I am just making sure you’re comfortable.”

“This room is four times my dorm.”

“It _is_ a tiny dorm.”

“It’s not,” Emma chuckled. “I’m comfortable.”

“I’m glad.” Regina nodded solemnly. “If you need any--”

“Regina. What… What am I doing here?”

“What do you mean?” The woman shifted in place. “We agreed it would be easier if you were here, where I can help or provide anything you might…”

“Yeah, I know, but now you’re acting like you’re retiring to your room and I’ll only see you again if I schedule an appointment with your housekeeper.”

“Don’t be silly. I don’t have a housekeeper.” Emma rolled her eyes, and Regina seemed to hesitate before taking a step inside. “Despite what happened earlier, in your dorm… and in the car, I suppose…” There was a faint blush on her cheeks. “I don’t want you to think I brought you here to have you at my disposal. I only wish to facilitate things for you during the cycle. I am, after all, the reason you are going through this…”

“You are not. _I_ am the reason I’m going through this, ok? And I admit it was getting a little out of hand, but I can deal. I don’t need you to pity me or anything.”

“I don’t pity you, Emma.”

“I thought you wanted me here so we could… So we would… I mean, not _mate_ , not yet, I know, but…” She stopped, averting her eyes. There was no way she could go further. There was no way she could _ask_ for this. Even though the ever-present buzz in her belly was starting to gather intensity again.

“Emma.” Regina took two long steps and crouched in front of her. “I do. I couldn’t deny it if I tried.”

The omega let the air out slowly. Regina’s closeness clouded her mind a lot. Still, she thought a hard-on meant nothing in that situation. Emma could give a hard-on to half the block now if she stood on the balcony as a breeze blew. Regina’s hard-on, as tempting as it was, was not a good enough reason to have come. Not a good enough reason to stay.

She voiced none of this, but the alpha must have read something on her face, and her hands stroked Emma’s knees carefully.

“Let’s not pretend this is a simple situation,” She said in a low voice. “Many alphas mistake instinct for consent, but I am not one of them. What I want most is that you have all you need right now. I will not assume this involves me all the time.”

“This is not a simple situation,” Emma agreed. “You’ve been going lengths to ensure I don’t feel like I own you this…”

“You don’t.”

“I _know_.” She rested her hands on Regina’s shoulders and squeezed. “Listen to me, ok? Listen to me while I’m still feeling pretty sane, and my thoughts are making sense. I sold you my matehood, and I had no idea how this was going to go. I was willing to try and make it the best it could be for the both of us, and that was about it. I sold you this, and that was our starting point, I know, but everything that’s happened since… I took it all from you, it’s mine. All the orgasms, every kiss, every fucking look you gave me, it’s mine, I wanted it. And I want more, I want everything you wanna do with me, you have my consent. You have more than that… you have my trust. I want this, and if we mate at some point, it’s ok too, it’s more than ok, because I want it too. I know you’re skeptic, cause you had to pay for it, and it is not a simple situation, but come what may… I want to. So, please, stop making me ask for it, I’m not good at this and I…”

“You are _too good_ at this,” Regina interrupted, rising to press their lips together.

“Now you’re just lying,” She whispered through a smile. The alpha shook her head slowly without parting the kiss, and their lips brushed softly this time, just softly. Emma palmed the hard-on stretching Regina’s jeans, drawing a low moan from the woman’s throat. She unbuttoned it slowly, lowering the zipper as their tongues met.

“Emma…”

“Come to bed,” She urged, sliding back on the mattress and pulling the woman by the waistband before she could do that thing she always did - collect herself, protect herself from Emma. She couldn’t deal with an armored Regina right now. She wanted her naked.

Regina laid on top of her, between her open legs, their mouths meeting again, hungry yet unhurried, and Emma slipped her hands under her shirt and up her back, nails tracing the way through her spine. The alpha gasped, the taste of her kiss getting sharper, and Emma responded arching her back, wanting to get as close as she could, though she was so overwhelmed her limbs felt heavy and clumsy.

For a moment - and she wasn’t sure how long a moment could last - they just kissed. Regina slipped a hand under her nape, and Emma hugged her waist, their lips fitting together, tongues brushing, searching. She nibbled Regina’s lower lip, tasting her, moaning at the thought she was right there in that place and time where she could do it. Her body throbbed painfully now as she felt a warm stream of lubrication running down her bare sex under the dress - Regina hadn’t returned her panties in the car -, and the feeling grew, wild and acute, yet they remained kissing, just kissing and holding on.

When they parted, there was no reasonable thought going through Emma’s mind. Regina was her single thought, her single interest. This she didn’t say, she didn’t have to. The alpha read her breathing and her scent like a sheet music. Regina’s mouth descended to her neck, her tongue flicking - here and then there, teasing at her jugular, nibbling all the length of Emma’s throat. And her hands, not so delicate now, grabbing, squeezing the omega’s thighs, at last gripping the hem of the dress and getting rid of it at once.

Then Regina looked at her. Really looked at her for the first time. Emma should have felt like running, she should have felt like hiding, because there was a huntress behind that look, a famished huntress that had found prey. But she didn’t. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t breathe as Regina stared at her, making her feel more naked, as if her own skin wasn’t covering her anymore. Regina could see everything. And Emma was sure she did.

The alpha leaned in again, her face coming close, making Emma part her lips in anticipation, only for her to detour, her shallow breath caressing the skin on Emma’s neck, always only a promise of a kiss, teasing her way down, her tongue flicking between the omega’s breasts, tasting the salt there, provoking a chill that left Emma’s nipples hard and throbbing. Regina surrounded a nipple with her lips, making a moist dome of heated breath around it, making the omega squirm as the tip pulsated, begging for a little touch, just a brush of tongue or teeth, and Regina refused to comply, standing still as the her skin burned.

“Please,” Emma whined, grabbing locks of dark hair. “Please…”

When the alpha’s tongue met the hard tip of her breast, Emma shivered, the electricity igniting a chain of reaction that almost culminated in an orgasm. She groaned loudly, welcoming shudder after shudder as Regina kissed, licked, nibbled and sucked.

She complained lowly as the woman’s mouth moved away, spreading soft kisses on her collarbone before heading south again. It felt almost unbearably teasing as she crossed her stomach, traced a line down her venter and licked the top of her slit. Regina groaned; she groaned and Emma blushed at the realization the alpha was groaning at her taste. She was so wet, she knew she was _too_ wet, but it didn’t seem to be a problem when the woman went on to spread that burning tongue on every bit of flesh.

Emma wanted to scream and found she didn’t have a voice. Regina Mills licked her clit and the world collapsed on itself. Of course, Emma had read like a thousand novels and Buzzfeed posts about it, but they had fallen so short of expressing how this felt. It was so intimate, so complex, so good, fuck, she felt so rigid and sensitive, her clit sore at this point, swollen and throbbing as she convulsed and orgasmed in a hurry. It did not come even close to being enough, and she sobbed a prayer that Regina didn’t stop, and she didn’t, her lips suddenly sucking, putting her hard clit under a soft pressure that was madness, pure madness.

She came so hard this time her come squirted down her thighs, what didn’t seem to bother Regina either, since she was grinning as she straightened up and ran the back of her hand by her dripping chin.

“Wow, shit,” She panted, closing her eyes for a moment and trying to gather herself again.

“What is it?” Regina said in a teasing tone, laying by her side.

Emma smiled to the ceiling, her whole body buzzing with delight. “I guess I’m just feeling _really_ welcome.”

 

**Day two**

Emma woke up disoriented, neither her body nor her mind recognizing the layout of things around her, the soft filtered light, or the touch of silky fabric underneath her. She laid there, peeking under heavy eyelids, until it started to dawn on her. Slowly, she became aware of the shallow sound of breathing beside her, then of the warmth travelling the sheets, and - of course - of the honeyed scent that had taken the room.

She turned around to face the alpha, surprised to find her there at all. Regina had said she’d be in her room just down the hallway if Emma needed anything, and that was an unmistakably farewell, but then they got caught up on each other again, and one time after that, and then…

 _I wore her out_ , Emma thought to herself, grinning. For some reason, the idea made her feel pretty good. Then she noticed it wasn’t _exactly_ true. Not anymore, anyway. Regina still wore her shirt and boyshorts that didn’t do much to contain the boner stretching across her crotch. She sat up quietly, eyes roaming the woman laid there, so beautiful in her sleep, so sexy in her dreamy wanting.

Regina really seemed something out of a fantasy; the way she looked, the way she talked, the way she acted. Bitter sometimes, and then surprisingly sweet, controlling and thoughtful, and all in all just what Emma needed most of the times. Right now she was just so _tempting_ ; those sealed lips, pinkish and plump, the cleavage on the crumpled shirt showing just the outline of her breasts, then a glimpse of her stomach, the lower curve of her navel at sight, and finally the shape of her cock throbbing under the shorts, curving upwards under the tight space, calling Emma forward, asking her to free it from it’s cotton cage.

Before she could prevent herself, she reached forward and did it, pulling the boyshorts down over her erection, allowing it to spring free in all its glory; it looked much bigger now, and so _hard_ against her stomach. Regina squirmed in her sleep and Emma held her breath, but never averted her eyes; fuck, she was pretty sure she could _see_ it pumping. But to see wasn’t enough. Her body was awake now, and getting at full speed really fast; the low rumbling in her venter gave very direct orders, and Emma was way past the point of resisting them.

She grabbed Regina’s cock by the base and the woman woke up gasping; Emma pumped it to the tip, once, twice, and the alpha attempted to sit up, but was pushed back down by a firm hand against her chest. “Let me,” She said, marveling at the assured sound of her own voice.

“Emma.” The alpha panted, as if her name was an argument, but Emma responded by leaning down and swallowing the head of her cock, tongue rubbing around it in defiance, and Regina bit her lip purple.

Tasting Regina made her greedy, hand and mouth working together, stroking and sucking, until the woman was grabbing the sheets and a vein popped at her forehead. Every puffy curse that left the alpha’s lips was treasured, every failed attempt of resuming control made Emma even more keen. She brushed Regina’s quivering shaft against her lips, then throat, at last passing it by her breasts, guiding the tip to tease her hard nipples; a thin stream of precome moisted her skin and made the touch even more pleasant. Emma had never had big boobs, but they were just enough to trap the alpha’s erection between them; she pressed her own breasts together, feeling the dull, heated pulse of the shaft between them, and Regina groaned and thrusted her hips forward.

Emma felt the warm flow of lubrication running down the woman’s cock and smearing her breasts until they felt viscid; though not as much as the space between her own legs. Her clit thundered now, the orgasm a perfect storm ready to drop if she did so much as press her thighs together. But more than that, there was a need that came from deeper within, a void growing at her sex and slowly drowning her in eagerness.

Regina felt it too, she thought. The alpha’s body was rigid, trying to control the tide, make it last, maybe, or just remain in command. But she was ready to burst, the dam already showing signs of crumbling, and before this could happen, Emma found herself straddling her, sitting on her cock, her cleft sliding against the underside of Regina’s shaft.

The alpha’s hands flew to her thighs and squeezed them hard, imprinting her fingers in red marks, but that didn’t even slow Emma down. She started motioning back and forth, stroking Regina’s whole length with her pussy, the weight of her body putting pressure on it, making the movement even more intense. This wasn’t planned, and wasn’t controlled; Regina’s shorts were yanked down just enough to free her cock, and her shirt up just enough so it could lay against her bare stomach, and Emma was disheveled and close to out of her mind, yet it was the greatest thing happening in the universe - or at least it felt so.

Emma’s clit rubbed against Regina’s hard-on as she soaked it in lubrication, making every motion slicky, dangerously slicky and _so good_. Regina propped herself on her elbows and watched closely as the omega’s sex pressed on her own, and then she leaned even more forward and closed her mouth on Emma’s breast, sucking the moist nipple and tipping the girl over the edge.

Regina laid back again as Emma came hurriedly, convulsing on top of her, still riding, angling herself just enough so the woman’s cock would rub all the right spots and give her everything she needed. But then, even as she orgasmed, it wasn’t just quite what she needed, the void inside of her expanding, and Emma wanted to fulfill it, she had to fulfill it, and she knew only one thing would do. She looked down at Regina, at those glorious, dark, shimmering eyes, and everything seemed to be on hold, about to come into place - the world would come into place…

Then Regina grabbed her by the waist and knocked her over by her side, reversing positions in the blink of an eye. Emma gasped as the alpha kneeled between her legs, her cock redish and slick as she pumped it tightly for a moment, and then it spilled on Emma’s stomach, her come warm as it ran down her skin and filled her belly button. What a sight it was, Regina towering over her, her flushed face, lips almost raw as she bit back moans, her scent overpowering everything, and the outcome of her pleasure covering Emma’s skin like a stream of liquid satisfaction.

It was over in a few moments, but in some part of Emma’s mind it would never be over. The air itself was poisoned by the experience, almost too thick to breathe. Regina let out a shaky breath, then inhaled deeply once. “I’ll be right back,” She said in a tight voice, and left the bed.

Emma couldn’t do as much as follow her with her eyes. She stood motionless, trying to get herself under some kind of order again. That buzz of delight tingled her from head to toe; a sensation she was becoming familiar with, that possessed her every time Regina turned her longing into exhilaration. Yet… the memory of a void remained, gnawing at her guts.

Regina came back shortly and sat by the edge of the bed holding a wet towel. She cleaned Emma’s breasts and stomach with soft strokes that left the omega shuddering. They didn’t talk at first; they didn’t risk it. Emma had the impression they we're both trying to smother the flicker of doom that had almost overcome them. But why? Why smother it, if that was exactly what had brought them there in the first place? Emma couldn’t fool herself into thinking it was about a fetish anymore. Just as she couldn’t fool herself into thinking she was willing to do it because Regina had paid.

They were both running out of excuses.

“I’m sorry I woke you,” She said eventually.

“ _Are_ you?” Regina replied, suppressing a smirk.

“Well, it wasn’t my fault, really. You were on my bed. Hard.”

“I must have drifted off… I’m sorry.”

“ _Are_ you?”

Regina chuckled then; a sound Emma never got tired of. “Is this room like… your nesting room? You bring all your omegas here?”

“All my omegas?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t have a few of them on your speed dial,” Emma mocked. The idea bothered her a little, and the tone came off a bit rough under the humor. “How many puppies were conceived in this room, I wonder.”

“Emma,” Regina said in a amused voice. “Are you trying to subtly ask me if I have other partners and children?”

“Well… I guess it _wasn’t_ very subtle.”

“You should give up on that, dear. Subtlety doesn’t suit you.”

“Do you, then?” Emma wet her lips.

“I don’t. Not partners, not children.”

The omega nodded. “I’m using contraceptive, by the way,” She said. “We never talked about that, but hm, I thought you should know?”

Regina paused for a moment, before nodding too. “Ah, good, good… I… use it too.”

“So no puppies shall be conceived in the nesting room.”

“It’s not a nesting room.”

“Well, it is now,” Emma smiled a little, her hand searching for Regina’s, fingers entwining. “I never slept with anyone before. I mean, literally. Never slept… It was kinda nice? Waking up and having you here.”

“It was nice…”

“I understand you value your privacy, I’m not, like, asking for anything… It’s just, you can stay, if you want, when you want.”

“I haven’t slept with anyone in a long time too.”

“Right… Not the type, got it.”

“No, I didn’t mean that,” Regina said, gripping the hand Emma was slipping away from hers. “I meant I wasn’t sure… how to do this now. With you. I didn’t want to impose.”

“Really?” Emma sat up, leveling their eyes. “You always seem so sure of everything.”

“Good to know, I put on an effort for that.” The woman huffed.

“Stay, then.” She asked, and the alpha agreed. Emma leaned forward and kissed her out of affection - affection only -, a gentle kiss. She didn’t realize that until they broke apart and Regina’s eyes were wide, cautious. She had to pop that bubble of intimacy before the woman ran out screaming, so she hurriedly asked, “So you don’t want kids?”

_Jesus, Emma. You. Are. A moron._

Regina turned pink, then white, then cleared her throat as if Emma had asked her to impregnate her right then and there. Sometimes alphas really were pathetic. “I… don’t… I… Leopold was past his days of cycling when we got married, and he actually already had a daughter - I think I mentioned? - so that was never really a possibility between us.”

“Ok, but… with any other partner?”

“There hasn’t been anyone serious since then.”

“Not even the guy from Hood Publishing?”

Regina narrowed her eyes at Emma. “No, dear.”

And, because Emma _was_ a moron, she insisted, “Not even when you were young and in love, with… Daniel?” The name seemed to echo for a second, then Regina withered like a delicate flower under the sun. Her shoulders dropped slightly, and her eyes wandered the room, fleeing from Emma’s. “No,” The omega whispered, holding Regina’s face between her two hands. “Don’t fly away.”

“What?”

“It’s ok to be a little vulnerable sometimes.”

“Emma, you don’t know…”

“Hearing his name makes you sad,” She interrupted. “And you can push me away, because I sure am overstepping, but it’s just… It’s ok, you don’t have to back away from me so quickly.”

Regina touched Emma’s wrists, drawing the girl’s hands away from her face, but then brought them back to her lips and kissed her palms long. Just like that the bubble of intimacy was back on. “I _was_ young and in love with Daniel,” She said against her hand. “And neither of us had discovered contraception at the time.”

Emma hesitated. “Oh.”

“We made plans to elope,” She went on, barely over a whisper. “My mother found out and decided to take matters into her own hands… She somehow convinced Daniel a pup would only ruin both of our lives. That I was engaged to be married with a man I loved and that had a future to offer me, and that he was… trapping me, and… I don’t know. I can only imagine how persuasive she was.”

“Persuasive?”

“She talked him into terminating the pregnancy. Hired some butcher to do it quietly. Daniel had… he had an infection.” There was something about the way she told that. A final note, like it was an epilogue, not the conflict that would lead the characters in that story towards a happy ending. There was something that told Emma _how_ it ended. And it was _not_ happy.

“Oh, no… No. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s been a long time… Emma, it’s ok--” But Emma hugged her. Bubble be damned. Regina wasn’t going to run out screaming while she was between her arms, so Emma hugged her tight. “You don’t have to comfort me, dear.”

“Let me do it anyway,” She whispered. Regina sighed… and hugged her back.

 

**Day three**

Emma rolled her eyes and snorted at the phone, making Regina look over her shoulder from where she was standing in front of the open refrigerator. “What is it?”

“An email from Artie,” She muttered. “I wrote him to ask if we got any word from Random House, right? And now he tells me he hasn’t been pressing them because he’s about to send my novel to a guy at Harper Collins too, and it’s better to have that card once he does write to RH… yada yada.”

“I don’t understand. Isn’t that a good thing?” Regina asked, closing the door and bringing a jar of orange juice to the kitchen counter where Emma was sitting.

“Yeah. Too good, don’t you think? I think he’s scamming me.”

“And why would he do that, dear? It’s in his best interest to work your novel.”

“Well, I guess, but I mean, really? Arthur represents like five authors; he must’ve sold around two books his entire career - that isn’t that long either - and now just two major houses are considering _my_ novel?”

“It’s a great novel, Emma. Your writing is really something else,” The alpha stated, pouring them both a tall glass of juice.

“I know it’s good. I know I’m good. I not being like, fake humble,” She mumbled, sipping the beverage. “But that doesn’t change the fact I’m a nobody.”

“As was Stephen King when he wrote _Carrie_.”

“That was in the Seventies! It doesn’t work like that nowadays. I’d have to be like an influencer or really famous at Wattpad to get that kind of attention.”

“What is a Wattpad?”

“Never mind,” Emma shook her head. “It’s a scam. He just doesn’t want to give me bad news.”

“Don’t play the pessimist with me,” Regina replied. “It is an amazing story with a strong voice. I’ve been reading it nonstop every time I can get you to give me a little break.”

“So you’re like on page four?” Emma mocked, though she blushed a little behind the cup. Because it was kinda true Regina couldn’t have advanced much... Emma was getting less and less inclined to give the woman breaks. The weekend had come and gone, and by Monday the idea of spending the day apart seemed like a bad joke, so the alpha called her work and… Well, Emma didn’t think that, being the CEO, Regina had had to give many excuses, but the important thing was that she hadn’t gone anywhere.

“Page seventy-four,” The woman corrected. “I’m a fast reader.”

“Or maybe I’ve been too slack with you.”

Regina gave her a side glance, but didn’t respond. God was witness Emma was lying, anyway. She watched as the alpha got a loaf of bread from a cabinet and put two slices on the toaster; it was evening, but Emma mentioned she felt like having breakfast, so there was Regina Mills, prepping her some toast. The first plan had involved pancakes, but they soon realized it was a bit ambitious. Even toast was looking unrealistic now, as Emma adjusted herself on the stool and felt the wave of arousal that came from the motion.

In the last couple days, they had managed to do pretty normal stuff, like watch TV, check on Instagram - and read, she supposed. They weren’t savages, _of course_ . They didn’t fuck _all_ the time. Except that Emma felt this wasn’t going to last. Being there with Regina had turned things around drastically - this much was certain. There was no pain anymore, no acute sense of deprivation, and she felt really cared for. Yet her body seemed to be heating _up_ instead of down - reminding her she hadn’t quite peaked yet. And everytime Regina touched her, it felt like heaven, but even when Emma climaxed there was a small part of her that couldn’t get satisfied. It was small, yes, a small part, but it was enough - this part of her was _boiling_ all the fucking time, and when Regina backed away it immediately started to heat all the rest of Emma that should be chilling.

She got up from the stool and rounded the counter until she reached Regina by the sink and wrapped her arms around her, resting her face on the woman’s back. “I’m not hungry anymore,” She said against her shirt, basking in the warmth of the flesh underneath.

“Of course you are. We haven’t eaten since morning.”

“I don’t _feel_ hungry.”

“Feeling horny must be in the way,” Regina replied, a little amused.

“Probably.”

The alpha finally turned around, leaning in to spread moist kisses on Emma’s neck. “I forgot how it was to be twenty-something.”

“Don’t even try,” Emma whispered, head dropping back, giving Regina more space. “ _You_ came after _me_ three times today.”

“You scent calls me,” She said hoarsely, “even when your voice doesn’t.”

“Is it calling now?”

“It’s yelling.”

Emma hummed from the back of her throat as Regina palmed her breast over the t-shirt and sank teeth on the sensitive skin of her neck. Five seconds, and she was head over heels, scratching the alpha’s arms and coming undone. Regina spinned her around, pushing her hair aside to gain access to her nape, and Emma’s knees buckled as hot kisses moisted her hairline.

Regina lead her forward until she was facing the countertop again, then ordered by her ear: “Hands on the counter.” Emma obeyed with trembling fingers grabbing the marble border and held on for dear life as a swift hand invaded her panties. She wasn’t completely aware of just how much on the edge she was until the alpha fingered her clit and the orgasm came tumbling down and carried her in the surge. Her body arched back as she came, and Emma felt the rigid outline of Regina’s erection pressing her ass from under the thin cotton fabric of her pants - for some reason, it was so arousing she started to come again immediately, rolling her butt against the volume behind her and listening to the quick breathing of the woman touching her.

“Feeling better?” Regina asked with a rough voice once the second climax eased down, but Emma shook her head no dizzily. All she could think about was the heated boner against her ass and the roaring void arising between her legs. She didn’t dare turn around, but her hands went behind her, fumbling for the alpha’s waistband. “Emma,” Regina warned, pushing her hands away, “hands on the counter.”

But Emma needed less barriers between them, she needed to feel Regina’s skin, the pulse of her desire - she had the right to it, since she was the one _causing_ it! The woman couldn’t deny her that, she couldn’t. She groped again, this time closing her fingers around the shape of her cock, and then there was a clapping sound as Regina smacked her buttock at once. “I said _hands on the counter_!” She said in a even, irrefutable tone. Emma obeyed almost out of shock. Regina hadn’t hurted her, not quite, but her skin burned a little - and it made her so horny she actually felt like crying.

The woman pulled her panties down to her ankles. “Kick it aside,” She demanded, and Emma did so. “Now spread your legs.” This she didn’t need to ask twice. “I want you to rest your face on the counter.”

The omega hesitated for a second, and Regina smacked her again, turning the tender skin into red and feverish. A trickle of lubrication ran down Emma’s leg slowly as she obeyed - the counter was a bit high to do it comfortably, so she stood on her tiptoes to rest her upper body and face on it. And then she was overexposed to Regina.

“Oh, dear, you are so very wet,” The alpha whispered, running a finger by the bead sliding down her thigh. Emma felt her face hot against the cold marble, her mind going back and back again to the feeling of that hard, throbbing cock, and how much she wanted it. Her sex contracted, tight and somehow voided, and when Regina kneeled and dove her head between the omega’s legs to suck on her clit, Emma wanted to scream. In fact, she did scream, and it was pleasure and a hint of pain at once.

She couldn’t help the orgasms - she really couldn’t. They rocked her body, one and another, leaving her out of breath, scratching the stone surface after something to ground her. Yet she kept boiling, heating, burning, until she was crying out loud. Regina stood up again and pressed a hand on Emma’s lower back to keep her in position, and slapped her ass harder this time when the omega squirmed - which only flared her further.

“I got you,” She said firmly, and slid a finger inside her. Emma was way too lubricated for the alpha to have any holdback, but she still felt the slight pressure of it making way inside and her body seemed to halt in its despair to pay attention.  

Then Emma gasped against the counter, shaking.

It was the first time Regina penetrated her in any way. Emma herself hadn’t done it alone either - even when she felt the impulse to do it, something held her back. And although she hadn’t shaped the thought, she guessed it was this weird idea that being inside her was _Regina’s_ job. And now she was - in some way.    

Another finger followed in - or so Emma thought, since the pressure built. Her sex twitched, tightening the way, and she groaned loudly at the sensation. The yearning seemed to morph into something else, and it was rising, rising like a tsunami. Regina crooked her fingers and thrust them a little, pressing a tumid spot that made Emma see stars. “Ooh, _fuck_ . Yes, yes, _there_ , fuck me,” She babbled in her frenzy, and this time _Regina_ obeyed.

She fucked Emma with her fingers, making them go deep enough so her palm smashed the omega’s ass at every thrust. The knuckles of her two flexed fingers seemed to press her perineum too, and as Emma started to convulse with pleasure, Regina’s thumb began to rub the bud of her ass as well.

This time it was less of an orgasm and more of an explosion. Emma shook from head to toe, coming almost hard enough to pass out, squirting her come in warm, endless streams that soaked Regina’s hand past the wrist. She was still twitching as the woman pulled out her fingers with a light suction sound.

“Are you alright?” Regina asked, helping her to straight up again on trembling legs.

“I… yeah, I… think so.”

The alpha turned Emma to face her, pushed the hair away from her face and watched her carefully for a moment. Emma was swaying a little, wet from groin to ankles, and no doubt dizzy, but she still noticed how Regina held her waist; how her thumbs were tracing soft circles there, a barely-there caress; how she kissed her hair absentmindedly; and how she was avoiding looking the omega in the eyes.  

“You think you can eat now?”

Emma let the air out slowly, finally noticing her body as something earthly again. “Yeah, I’m actually starving.”

Regina grinned. “I thought so.”

 

**Day four**

Emma adjusted herself against Regina’s chest, laying still for a moment as she caught her breath, gathering the strength to break apart - before she managed it, though, Regina wrapped arms around her and sheltered Emma against her body. It felt like the cherry on top of the cake, and Emma moaned very low, reasonably satisfied for the time being - fifteen minutes ago it had felt like this was impossible.

“You’re so good at this,” Emma whispered, nose brushing the hollow of the alpha’s throat and feeling the buzz of her vocal chords when she chuckled.

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Lies,” The omega laughed. “Half the time I don’t even know what I’m doing. The other half I’m doing nothing at all.”

Regina chuckled again, fingertips running Emma’s bare back, tracing random lines of warmth. “You might have never mated, but you will not convince me of your purity, dear.”

“If I wanted to convince you of something, wouldn’t be of that. I think being inexperienced is pretty boring, to be honest, but it doesn’t change the fact…”

“What are you saying?”

Emma inhaled shakily as Regina’s hand slowly descended to her ass, caressing. “I’m saying I had only kissed before.”

“You are kidding me.”

“I’m not… And you’re turning me on again.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, your hand’s on my butt…”

“Emma,” Regina sounded amused. “How does an open-minded, attractive, sexual and healthy omega as yourself turns 22 without having made out with anyone?”

“I told you, I was on suppressors, I never cycled before…” She said, noticing she wasn’t the only one getting hot and bothered. Regina’s cock pressed her stomach, and she slipped a hand between them to touch it over the boyshorts.

“Nobody’s sexuality is restrained to heats, you know that.” The alpha replied as her hard-on grew under Emma’s touch. “You’ve never been in love?”

“Ain’t nobody got time for that,” She mocked, trying to distract them both by pulling her shorts down and freeing the hard-on underneath. Usually, Regina wouldn’t give Emma this much access to her body, so she wanted to make the best of it. Also, her unsteady heart told her love was a terrible subject.

“I thought _I_ was the one with trust issues.” Ok, so the alpha wasn’t letting her off the hook so fast, but the slight panting tone was delightful to hear.

“Growing up I met some really bad people, you know. People that were worse than dead inside. And then I met some people who were just good people in bad situations, trying their best… but mostly failing.” She looked up to stare at the woman’s eyes and found Regina watching her, watching her really closely, paying the kind of attention Emma thought people only paid _before_ taking someone to bed. The omega gripped harder at her cock and Regina stifled a moan, her jaw rigid, but her attention never wavered. “Between one option and another, I chose none.”

“It must’ve been lonely.” Her hand ran through Emma’s side and framed a breast softly, her thumb brushing the nipple.

“I was never much of a people’s person, anyway,” She breathed. “I did make some friends in college, though.”

“Ruby. August.”

Emma smiled. “You remember.”

“Omegas like you.”

“Omegas are the best.”

“I can’t disagree,” Regina pinched the tip of her nipple, starting a dull pulse between Emma’s legs. “But no love interests.”

“I didn’t know if I had it in me.”

The alpha arched an eyebrow, rolling them carefully until she was on top of Emma, their bodies pressed together, her erection throbbing against the omega’s lower belly. “How so?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know why I said that.”

“You do. Tell me.”

“No, it’s… it’s silly, and I…” She raked her nails through the alpha’s back. “I can’t think right now.”

“You know, you don’t have to pull away from me so fast,” The woman quoted and Emma sighed, closing her eyes and laughing a little, defeated.

“I was afraid of being awful at it; of being mean, or heartless, or just incapable of loving someone in the right way.”

“Is there a right way to love someone?”

“Yes, yes, there has to be, because there are tones of wrong ways. I’ve seen them.”

The alpha paused for a second, then nodded, “Maybe, but I guess it is the kind of thing you can only learn by doing.”

“I also… I guess I was kind of scared of wanting it, you know? Because for me wanting something always meant fighting really hard to get it. And I… knew I couldn’t fight to get someone to love me, so if I admitted to myself I wanted it, I’d be…”

“Helpless?”

Emma nodded, letting the air out. “Why am I telling you all this? It isn’t sexy, and now I’m really horny again, and I need to get you in the mood.”

“I’m in the mood, Emma,” The alpha said, thrusting against her just enough for Emma to feel the hard shaft rubbing her slit. Her pussy tightened in a hurry, getting wet and ready and demanding. “I’m always in the mood with you, and there is nothing unsexy in getting to know you better.”

“Regina… I’m glad I waited.” She whispered, and the look on the alpha’s face was almost pained, almost guilty, even when she leaned for a kiss. “Wait. I…” Emma parted the kiss to voice the words. “I’m glad I waited, but I don’t think I can wait much longer…” She didn’t want to talk about the void, about that boiling part of her, about the absurd of never getting completely satisfied, no matter the effort. She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to talk about this, because she didn’t want to think of what came after. But the window of time to talk about it was closing, because her body was on fire more than half of the time, and soon talking wouldn’t be a possibility at all.

“I’m here for you,” Regina replied carefully, an answer vague enough for Emma to understand it anyway she wanted. She nodded, trustful. “Is it hurting yet?”

“Sometimes…” She lied. Regina paused.

“Is it hurting right now?”

“A little…” This wasn’t exactly a lie. They had barely started, so the void was still forming, but Emma knew it was going to expand rapidly, and soon she’d be muffling howls on the pillows.

“I have something that might help.”

_Of course you do, it’s throbbing against me._

But that clearly wasn’t what Regina had in mind, since she left the bed - adjusting her shorts, for Emma’s dismay - and went to rummage her closet (they’d started it in the kitchen, the day before, and the alpha had carried her to the bedroom after, walking towards her own suite probably out of habit, and there they were since then). The sudden distance left Emma needier than before, and she pressed her legs together as her eyes devoured the shape of Regina’s ass under the dark underwear.

The woman came back with a white silicone dildo and Emma lifted herself on her elbows, brow creased. “What is that?”

“You are definitely not _this_ pure, Emma,” The woman teased, sitting by her side.

“No, I mean…” But she didn’t know how to voice what she meant. Not in a way that didn’t sound crude, at least. _Why the fuck would we need a dildo? You have a fucking cock under your shorts that’s twitching to fuck me. Why don’t you fuck me? Why don’t you fuck m--_ Regina kissed her, heated and hard, her tongue pressing her lips, finding way in, making Emma fall down on the mattress again.

She moaned when the alpha rubbed both her nipples until they felt deliciously sore, and the void was roaring again, hurting at full speed, making Emma gasp and claw the woman’s arms in agony. The thoughts she spent so much time trying to avoid came bubbling out of her brain, and all she could do was not to voice them. She wanted Regina inside, deep inside, completing her, making her whole. Emma wanted to be fucked, she needed it everyday more, it was maddening.

“Open your legs,” Regina said, and she obeyed in a hurry. “Tell me if it’s too much,” She warned as the head of the dildo brushed the omega’s inner lips. Emma shuddered, but then shook her head.

“We don’t need this…” She panted, bothered almost out of her mind. _Why don’t you fuck me?_ She tried to push the thought away, but there was a monster inside of her screaming that anything that wasn’t Regina was torture.

“Trust me,” Regina replied, locking gazes, and there was nothing Emma could do but nod. Because she trusted her, she trusted Regina effortlessly, she trusted Regina from her guts. But still, still, _why don’t you fuck me?_

And then the dildo was entering her and Emma thrusted her hips forward, eyes rolling back, but also angry, so fucking pissed it wasn’t Regina, and fucking shit, it felt so good, her ass contracting when it slipped out and in again, and she wanted to scream, why the fuck a dildo, god, she was coming so hard, she wanted it to end, end now, she wanted to tell Regina this wasn’t going to cut it, fuck, if she could just stop thrusting now.

When the eye of the storm finally passed, she felt like yelling and thrashing and passing out, and then Regina said, “Should I turn on the vibration now?” And Emma sobbed hoarsely, nodding. “Yes please.”

 

**Day five**

Regina felt a strange pang in her chest when she found out Emma wasn’t in bed. She had been gone for less than half an hour, finally defeated by work duties - and she had made a point of meeting her assistant in the lobby, fifteen floors away from Emma, though she guessed that young alpha could smell it on her, by that point. It had been the longest they’d been apart since the omega put foot in her apartment, and it was torturing - but also the first time in awhile Regina could actually think straight.

Things were reaching an extreme point, and she had to be an adult now, control her pheromones and make everything right. Honestly, she did not know why it had taken her so long to align everything in her mind, to come to the conclusion that what she wanted was simple enough - but now she did, and she believed Emma wanted it too.

But Emma wasn’t in bed, where Regina had left her napping surrounded by pillows, a dildo and her cellphone. For a second this sudden absence was all she could see, almost an open wound, and although the bed was unmade, the dildo was still there and the phone laid by the bedside table, the alpha hesitated, wondering if it had all been an intricate delusion.

Then she heard the shower.

She approached the door to the bathroom carefully, heart suddenly thumping as Emma’s scent thickened and awoke her body at once. The door was ajar and she pushed it open silently, watching the girl trembling under water - Emma had both hands and her forehead pressed against the wall, legs writhing below her as a series of painful moans echoed under the swish of the waterfall.

She sensed Regina’s presence - she _scented_ it - and turned around abruptly, fixating on her eyes that were stormy green. The pull at the alpha’s guts was so intense she stepped forward without meaning to, and Emma met her by the box’s door, grabbing the collar of her shirt with wet strong fingers and pulling her inside.

There was a kind of heat when Emma kissed that hadn’t been there before, hadn’t been there in the morning. It was like something had finally snapped, the last thread the omega had been hanging from, and now there was nothing there but hunger. Regina could not help but respond, hands gripping, fingers deepening in her slim, bony waist as the shower soaked her clothes.

Emma was unbuttoning her shirt in a hurry, losing a button or two along the way, pushing the shirt from Regina’s shoulders clumsily, then unbuckling the bra before the alpha could voice a word, and their skins finally met, burning together under cold water. It wasn’t enough, not even close, and the omega pulled on her pants so hard Regina almost stumbled forward - but the button gave in, flying away, the zipper came down and her erection bolted out, already full-on.

“Emma, wait, wait a second,” She breathed as the girl pulled her underwear down shamelessly, and together with her pants it became a sogging, heavy mount by her feet.

“I need you,” Emma replied, and her voice was hoarse enough to make the alpha shudder. Her fingers wrapped around the woman’s cock and pumped it from base to tip, hard and fast. Regina tried to bit back a groan, kicking the clothes aside and pushing Emma against the wall, kissing her a rough kiss, touching her a rough touch, the control slipping rapidly now that there was not a single layer of clothes between them.

All these days, Regina had been dancing at the edge of the abyss, always hanging on by her fingernails. Trying to keep some distance, trying to keep control even when it felt like she would disintegrate if Emma didn’t touch her, if they didn’t mate. She had wanted it, wanted _her_ , more than she remembered wanting anything in a long time. And just as so many other things she wanted, she was sure she couldn’t have it - at least not that way. So she tried - God, she tried - to do her best, to be her best self for Emma. She tried to weather the storm, but now it had dropped - and it was the fucking storm of the century.

Emma bit her lip and they both tasted blood; the omega licked it ravenously, drawing a moan from Regina’s throat. Her hands were grabbing the alpha’s ass and pulling her closer, and when she wrapped a leg around the woman’s hip, Regina held it under the knee and thrusted the length of her shaft against Emma’s very wet slit. It was a devilish pleasure to watch her come instantly, arching herself against the alpha and holding nothing back.

“Now,” Emma hissed through hard breathing.

“What?”

“I need you now, I need you,” She said, nails clawing at the woman’s shoulders, head resting against the wall so their eyes could meet. “Mate me.”

“Emma…” The alpha gasped when a swift hand gripped her hard-on again, and Emma guided it through her sex, moaning when the tip brushed her hard clit. Regina’s head spinned, and she was lucky Emma wasn’t experienced at this, or she’d be inside in a heartbeat. “Emma, don’t…”

“I’m peaking, I’m peaking, I swear,” She sobbed, still trying to lead Regina in, until the woman grabbed her both hands and locked them over her head, against the wall. “Fuck me, _please_.”

“It’s alright,” Regina uttered, though she was fighting herself as much as she was fighting Emma, and it hurt like fucking hell. “I’ll get the…”

“I want _you_!” Emma yelled, panting, her breasts rising and falling as she pressed herself against Regina anyway she could. “I want you now!”

“I want you too. You know I want you too.”

“Then take me.” She leaned in and kissed Regina, tongue flicking the bruised, tumid lip. “Mate me, just… I want it so bad…”

Regina freed her hands slowly, holding Emma’s face as she deepened the kiss. Their breaths were labored now, but still they tasted each other, dove in each other, but when Emma touched her cock again and retried to guide it inside, the alpha stepped back.

“I can’t”, She forced out, although her whole body resented it.

“ _Why not?_ ” Emma bursted, streams of wet hair falling on her shoulders, droplets running down her face like tears - or were they tears? “Why are you torturing me? Why don’t you take me already?!”

“Because I don’t want a prostitute!” Regina shouted back. Emma winced as if she had been slapped, any defiance vanishing from her posture, and the heat in her eyes seemed to flicker out like a flame. Suddenly the cold water felt really cold, and the silence really silent.

“It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?” She whispered at last, and Regina swallowed hard.

“I’m so sorry, that came out wrong… This is hard for me too. Emma, please…” She called when the omega turned off the water and rushed past her, grabbing a towel on the way to the bedroom.

“What am I _doing_ here?” Emma asked in a sharp tone once Regina followed her. “If you don’t want a prostitute, why did you pay for one?”

“I didn’t.” Regina felt ludicrous standing there, naked and dripping on the floor, her cock throbbing, still up high. “I mean, I did, but I never meant to… use your services.”

“What are you talking about?! Was I meant to someone else? You bought me like a gift card?”

“Of course not! I would never objectify you like that! Emma… Look. I… overheard some men talking about you. Their words… their tone… It was upsetting, and I was drunk…”

“Drunk?”

“I wouldn’t normally search for that kind of… website. But their words… I don’t know, Emma! I found your page, I read your profile, and it was so smart. You came across so smart, even in that circumstance, and I was curious and I wished you had a better choice then those men…”

“What are you saying?” Emma asked in a strained voice. They were both shivering a little - from being cold, from being apart, from being on the verge of giving in to each other.

“I bought your first mate, but I never intended to claim it,” Regina finally said. “I only wanted to meet you, to make sure my instincts were right…”

“What does that even mean?”

“I had this feeling you didn’t want to do that. That you were cornered. I’ve felt cornered before, and I know how close we can get to do desperate things…”

“I was not desperate! I made a choice…” She started.

“Really? Because to me it sounded like a no-choice.”

“You don’t know shit about me!”

“I do, Emma. I do know you. And you didn’t want that, you were so freaking scared that night I could smell it.”

“I wasn’t… I…”

Regina took a step forward. “You don’t have to try and deny it. It’s ok. I would be scared too. And I saw it, and I knew I was right, and I could help. I meant to tell you that from day one, but things went so wrong that night…” She was moving to hold Emma’s arms, but a dry chuckle stopped her on her tracks.

“And every night after that?”

“I don’t have an excuse…” She said carefully. “Just that every time we met it became harder to let you go.”

“No. You were considering. You were considering to take the prize you had paid for.”

“I wasn’t…” But Regina sounded unconvincing to her own ears.

“You were, and that’s fine. Because you paid, and you paid well, and I’m here, so collect it. Collect your fucking prize and take me already!” She sounded angry, but as her eyes flicked down to Regina’s cock, the alpha knew part of Emma meant it - because part of her still needed it, part of her wanted it and would enjoy it. They’d both enjoy it - but that wouldn’t last.

“I won’t.”

“Yes, you will, you will, because that was our deal, and I’m keeping my part.”

“I won’t mate you like this, Emma. I’m sorry, I can’t. I don’t want that to be all you see when you look at me, and I know it will.” Regina took another step closer, and this time she grabbed Emma by the waist even when the omega tried to dodge the touch. “I know you want me to, and you know I want it. I can scent it on you, and you can scent it on me. If I’d mate you, it would feel good. You’d be here for your cycle, and maybe for a week after that, maybe a month, because we have something here, don’t we? But then someday you’ll look at me and you’ll start to wonder if you really wanted it, if it was really that good, or if you just played yourself into believing it because you didn’t have a choice. Because I had paid and you had to deliver. You’ll look at me and you’ll only remember that I bought the right to fuck you, and you’ll hate me for it, and I can’t stand that. That’s why I didn’t… until now. And I couldn’t tell you either, I was afraid you’d just leave, and I… I’m sorry.”

Emma pushed Regina by the shoulders, breaking free, though her breath was coming out in puffs and her skin had felt feverish under the alpha’s touch. “You had no right to do this. I never wanted your help! I never wanted your charity!”

“Oh, Emma, don’t be silly. It’s just money. I have money, that’s not… That’s nothing.”

“Nothing?!” She fumed. “It’s not nothing, Regina!”

“I was just trying to help…”

“And how was that helpful?!” She yelled back. “I made the choice to get rid of my matehood, I chose that, I told you it was a big deal to me to choose that! Instead you stripped me from my pride, from my decision-making!”

“That’s not…” Regina paused, taken-aback. In the many times she pictured that conversation, she predicted the anger, the yelling. But it was never about _that_. She supposed Emma would be angry that she hadn’t been sincere from day one. That she’d feel trapped into that relationship (could she call it that?). She never once guessed Emma would be angry at Regina’s pure intentions. “I don’t understand…” But Emma was marching out of the room, and Regina looked around, feeling silly, and grabbed a robe in a hurry before following her. “Emma, wait. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you before…”

“I don’t fucking care you didn’t tell me before!” She yelled over her shoulder, entering the guest room.

“Then I don’t understand why you’re mad…” Regina stopped by the doorframe and watched in a slight panic as Emma rummaged her - still untouched - backpack.

“No, you don’t understand anything. You stay here, alone in your cristal tower, making judgement calls about people you don’t know, meddling in their lives without their consent!”

“I was trying to help!”

“You didn’t help! I never wanted this, and I won’t accept it. You bought this fucking mate, and you’ll fuck me sooner or later.”

“You are being impossible!” Regina spat back, closing her shaking hands in fists. “I told you already, we won’t do anything while you’re behaving like this.”

“Oh, but we will. We will, because I’ll look for you in every cycle, until you do it or I die a virgin!”

“Emma, stop it…” She asked, but the omega was putting on some clothes in a hurry. “Please, stop it. I never meant to hurt you. These last few days… I really care about you. Talk to me, I’m sure we can sort this out.”

“You didn’t hurt me,” Emma said at last, shaking her head. “I’m just really disappointed. I thought you respected me.”

“I do respect you!”

The omega sighed, a bitter sound, a bitter gleam in her eyes. “Then fuck me or let me go.”

Regina stood there, frozen in place, her heart a tight ball of pain throbbing in her chest, in her venter. Emma looked at her, though this time it was hard to read her, hard to understand what she really wanted. Regina stood there. The silence ate them from the inside out. Regina stood there. Emma was the best thing that had happened to her in such a long time - she was bright, and beautiful, and honest to a fault. Regina stood there. She remembered every second since they met, the kisses, the smiles, the way Emma had offered and taken more than Regina ever intended to share. _I took it, it’s mine._ She stood there, and then she stepped aside and let Emma go.

  
  



	6. Free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it took me a little while, but here I am with your last chapter. Let me thank all the response this fic got and that made my days so much brighter, sometimes - I really do love to know I'm not the only perv around. hahaha I mean to start a new fic soon, and hopefully a few of you will follow my next adventure too?   
> I hope you guys enjoy this. Either way let me know!

Emma didn’t think she had it in her anymore, to be this angry. But she did, and she was. She remembered, as a kid, being angry a lot. There was a strength to it, a kind of power, because anger was an all-consuming feeling, and if you were angry you couldn’t feel sad, or scarred, or hopeless. She had given it up eventually, the anger, because it was all-consuming for the people around her too, because she wanted more in life than that eternal teen angst, and because if there was one perspective that made her angrier than anything else was of turning into one of those ugly, angry people she met growing up.

Nevertheless, now, as she walked to the ascensor hall, her temples throbbed and she could feel the hot pump of blood in her fingertips as she balled her hands in fists. The anger was back, covering her like an armor, and she felt ready to burst at the minimal sound of steps behind her - but there weren’t any. Regina didn’t follow her down the hallway, she didn’t call Emma’s name from the living room, nor did she appear at the last moment to prevent the elevator’s door from closing on Emma’s face.

And then - when there was a thick barrier of steel between them and Kenny G. played softly on the background and the car started its way down -, only then the anger threatened to crumble, and Emma had to hold on to it by her fingernails. She felt a storm of emotions piling up at her chest, thick gray clouds that seemed to climb up her throat until she was gasping for air and heavy drops of rain blurred her eyes. 

Emma had never been one to weep, and she wasn’t about to start now… but dear God, it hurt. She tried to concentrate on her breathing, on the luminous panel that informed her she was reaching ground floor, on anything that wasn’t that hook in lower belly tugging her back, harder and harder until it felt like her guts would burst with the pressure. 

The doors slid open with a soft sigh, and Emma was startled by the man in uniform that greeted her. “Ms. Swan?” He asked tentatively, and Emma watched with awful precision the moment he picked up her scent. The man turned pink, then red, clearing his throat and averting his eyes as if it was disrespectful to even look at her. 

“I’m on my way,” Was all Emma could utter out, clutching her backpack closer to her chest and stepping out. 

_ Fucking stupid idiot dumb omega _ , she cursed as the few people in the lobby turned their heads to her. The last week had been a bubble, an erotic dream bubble, an intimacy bubble - so very much so that Emma created this stupid idea that her heat was for Regina only; that it was their thing, something they shared, a cycle they’d go through together. But it wasn’t like this, was it? It was only like this to the couples mated for life; she and Regina hadn’t even mated once. 

No… Instead, Emma’s heat was a warm front that immediately changed the weather in any room she walked in. It had been like this a week ago; and now it was even worse. She stalked through the lobby, only wanting to get away from there, to escape the eyes trying a little too hard not to follow her around as she tried not to pick up  _ their  _ scents too, tried to ignore the desperate urges that were emerging through the anger.

The guy in the uniform seemed to wake up from a daze and started after her, calling, “Ms. Swan, do you need any help with your bag?”

“I’m fine, thanks.”

“The car should be here in a minute,” He panted from behind her, making Emma stop on her tracks.

“What car?”

“Ms. Mills just called us,” He halted too, two steps behind her, eyes fixed on some point over Emma’s shoulder. “Your ride is on its way, miss.”

“I didn’t ask for a ride!” Emma barked, making the man flinch. “Sorry. I don’t… I’m out of here.”

“Please, Ms. Swan,” He called after her, reaching Emma as the omega stepped through the ornate iron and glass double doors of the building. “Ms. Mills was very… emphatic about it. And if I may add, I don’t really mean to intrude, but you might be more comfortable…”

Emma turned to him, getting red in the face as her pulse sped up. But then they were outside, and the air smelled like a thousand alphas and betas and her whole body seemed to choke on it, and it was so…  _ invasive _ . It  _ was _ invasive, and Emma felt more self-conscious than anytime before in her life. Because her bubble of intimacy had been popped, but that didn’t mean she wanted to share anything with other people, just as other people probably didn’t want to share it with her. She knew nobody did this - no omega in such an advanced state of heat walked the streets like this. It was disturbing, painful, even, for  _ everyone _ . She had no right, they had no right, it wasn’t right that it felt so out of control. 

So when the car pulled over in front of her, Emma was trembling, and the uniformed man opened the door for her with a pity look on his face that she  _ hated _ . But she also understood. He felt for her, he felt  _ her  _ in some way; he probably wasn’t some stupid, naive virgin that thought he could parade around while his body was at its most vulnerable state. So she got in. 

It was an omega in the driver’s seat, Emma realized as soon as the door shut behind her. She wondered if Regina had been  _ emphatic  _ about that too - she didn’t doubt it. Emma tried to hate her a little more for it, but in the end she was grateful. If the woman behind the wheel scented her, she didn’t show, she didn’t  _ mind _ . And her scent meant nothing to Emma either.

“Ms. Swan,” She greeted, eyes meeting through the rearview. “Where to?”

Emma told her the address with a voice that sounded about to crack. The car rolled away with a soft purr, and suddenly the omega felt like screaming, the pull in her belly trying to roll her back, back, back, and Regina filled all her senses at once; her laugh, her eyes, her scent, her taste, her touch. Everything else faded into the background, the anger slipped away so fast Emma never saw it go. At once, only the need remained, a dull pain that started between her legs and throbbed all the way to behind her eyes. 

She held on tighter to her backpack, pressing her face on top of it to muffle a grunt. It was starting to hurt now, to really hurt, not even a lustful, tempting sensation anymore, just this hollow feeling eating her insides, demanding something Emma didn’t have. She searched for her phone with trembling fingers and dialed.

_ “What’up, ugly duck?” _ The girl chirped from the other side. 

“Hey, Rubes, listen,” She started, though she wasn’t sure of how to go on. “I need a bit of advice.”

_ “That’s a first.” _

“You know something I can take at fourth week?” Emma voiced through her teeth, trying to keep the struggle off. 

_ “What you mean? Like… suppressors?”  _

“Yeah. I’m not feeling so good.”

_ “Emms,” _ The tone changed, the lightness in it gone.  _ “Are you alone? You are  _ cycling  _ alone? Are you crazy?”  _

“I wasn’t planning to, ok? It just… it’s an inconvenience…” 

_ “Have you done it?” _ Ruby interrupted.  _ “You did it with that alpha?” _

“I… No… Not yet.” 

_ “Emms, don’t be crazy. By fourth week you’re peaking or so close to it, it doesn’t matter. Just call her and say it’s time.” _

“I can’t do that right now. Ruby, just tell me if there’s something I can take.”

_ “You know there isn’t. Unless you want to sterilize yourself, it’s too late. You gotta find someone to be with you until it’s over.” _

“Right. Ok, thanks.”

_ “Emms, I mean it,” _ She said, serious now, worried. _ “It’s going to hurt if you don’t. You know, I know some nice people. A beta girl that’s been really sweet to me once…” _

“Ruby, stop it, you’re not hooking me up with a stranger.”

_ “You’ll remain a fucking virgin, if it’s what you’re worried about. It’s still going to help having someone…” _

“I don’t want anyone else!” Emma yelled into the phone, then bit her tongue, her hand clutching the cell so hard it hurt.

_ “Fuck, Emma, tell me you’re not in l--” _

“I have to go. Sorry I yelled. Bye.” She hung up, closing her eyes shut and trying to breathe. Jesus, how did she let things get to this point? She didn’t remember being this stupid before.

“Did you have a fight?” Came a voice from the front seat. Emma looked up, finding blue eyes staring at her through the mirror.

“I’m sorry about the drama.”

“Relax, honey, I’m an ommie too. I know how it goes.”

Emma nodded. 

“Did you and your alpha have a fight? Was it bad?” The woman went on, though her eyes were back on the road. “I don’t mean to pry, it’s just that it won’t be easy, hon. If you can turn back, let’s turn back now.”

“I can’t turn back,” Emma whispered. It felt like part of her had never really left, to be honest, and that every inch she moved away was ripping a piece of her from the rest.

The driver nodded solemnly. “Alphas can be such pricks,” She said with the weight of experience. 

“Yeah. They really can.”  _ Oh, Emma, don’t be silly. It’s just money.  _

“I know something that might help you,” The woman said after a moment of consideration. “But girl, it’s not healthy, and you gotta be responsible about it.”

Emma looked up again, the fireball in her guts making her breasts, her neck and her face throb with heat. There was an uneasy feeling between her legs that made her want to press against her seat and feel absurdly bothered by the idea of it. Nothing made sense anymore.

“Please, tell me.”

* * *

_ Her fingers felt warm tracing her upper lip, fleeting like a butterfly. “How did you get this?” Her voice was fleeting too, slurring with sleep. _

_ “I don’t remember,” Regina lied softly, holding Emma against her chest.  _

_ “It’s so beautiful,” Emma tilted her chin upwards, lips brushing Regina’s, tongue flicking the tiny scar over them. “Is it a bad thing to say?” _

_ “That something about me is beautiful?” _

_ “A scar,” Emma replied. “Something that bled you.” _

_ “It’s alright.” _

_ “You’ll tell me someday?” She asked, stepping over Regina’s lie without minding it. “When it doesn’t bleed you anymore.” _

Regina laid awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, her throat seeming to throb with a dull, rising pain. She wished she had told Emma about that night when she was twelve and her mother slapped her with the back of her hand; the big rock of her engagement ring slashing the girl’s upper lip and releasing a flow of blood that made young Regina gag. She wished she had told Emma the ugly parts, how they used to scream and fight and scare the living soul out of her father. She wished she had told Emma that a few things never stopped bleeding.

But right now, alone in that house that had never before felt so big and empty, Regina guessed Emma already knew that. The girl had walked out in a hurry, leaving behind traces of her scent that were fading now, after four days, a sweatshirt Regina couldn’t bring herself to move from the edge of the bed, and her unedited novel that the alpha had just finished reading.

Someday, she was sure, she would see that novel on every bookstore window. She would read about Emma on the papers, see her name on the  _ New York Times _ . She would watch from afar as Emma gained the world, and she would think of this; of things that never stopped bleeding.

Regina had called, of course she had, with a rehearsed answer to the voicemail she was sure she would get. But Emma had answered it, leaving her speechless against the phone.

_ “How… How are you?” _

_ “Still peaking. Do you want to mate?” _

_ “Emma, please. Can we… talk?” _

_ “I’m afraid talking isn’t included in the services acquired. Call me when you want to mate.” _

After three more attempts that had gone pretty much the same way, Regina gave up calling. What was there to say, when she was behaving like this? Emma was too young, too proud, maybe. But wasn’t Regina guilty of the same sin? She could’ve had Emma. For a night, a week, a month - for as long as it lasted. Then Emma would go, yes, she was convinced of it, but first Emma would have stayed. Instead she held on to her pride, to that part of some sort of Savior that was never meant for her.

_ “You’d be the Evil Queen,” Emma said promptly. _

_ “Should I be offended?”  _

_ The girl grinned. “Why? People love an anti-hero, and you have this thing about you that tells me you could go overboard if needed. If you felt you had your reasons.” _

_ “I’d go after the heart of maidens?” _

_ “I can personally say you would.” _

Emma would move on. She would put Regina on a shelf labeled as “Past”, that shelf where you let things to rot. She would find someone to mate her, but not only that - to fuck her, to love her, to fall for her and to live for her. There was so much in storage for Emma, and Regina stared at the ceiling trying to contain the hemorrhage that was not being part of it.

Jesus, she felt lonely. The world outside might as well be a post-apocalypse dystopia, for all she knew. She could be the last human on the planet. Alone. 

It had been years since Regina had connected to anyone, and then Emma happened. She couldn’t explain this, part of her had avoided to even think about it, so she didn’t have to admit to herself how alone she had been all these years. She lied and manipulated the situation so she could keep Emma in her life longer. So selfish. Mating her would have been more honest. It would have been what Emma wanted. 

It was too late for all of it now. Emma was gone. The world was ruined. And she was alone again.

* * *

Emma opened her eyes; heavy eyelids parting, blurred vision slowly coming into focus. Her mouth was so dry her tongue felt glued to her palate. Her stomach roared angrily, and she also felt a little sick. Summing up, she was a mess.

She groped around for her phone to see it was almost 10 pm. Day and night had turned into one fluid thing for the last five days - Emma didn’t think she had stayed awake for more than 30 hours during that period. 

There were a bunch of messages from Ruby and August and quite a few emails from Artie, but nothing from Regina. Regina. Emma had dreamed about her a lot - her mind provided the fantasies her body was craving and she would wake up soaked in her own come, with that name on the tip of her tongue.  _ Regina _ . It made her guts burn and her chest ache… or it used to. Right now it only clenched her stomach, more melancholy than pain.

Emma sat up, feeling dizzy. She needed a shower, and water, and food, if she managed. The omega that drove her home had stopped on the way to get her the pills.  _ Use it to sleep until tomorrow.  _ But the next day Emma was feeling even worse - Regina sent her baskets of pastries and energy drinks and body lotions supposed to relax, and they piled up at her door, and her care was so infuriating! - so she took another pill. And when she woke up again, she was so feverish it felt like her body was going to burn from the inside out, so she slept some more. Things didn’t change much for the following days, and Emma only left bed when absolutely necessary - in a matter of minutes her body betrayed her, throbbing, begging, heating, and she had to make it stop somehow. 

Now she got out of bed cautiously and went to the bathroom, getting under the shower with trembling knees. She felt weak and hungry and almost dehydrated, but other than that… it was kind of ok. The water on her skin didn’t hurt anymore and the pressure in her venter was a drizzle where it had been a storm.

_ It’s going away _ , she realized slowly.  _ The peak is gone. _

And somehow, although it should be a relief, it unlocked something within her, and Emma slid to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees and crying for the first time in so long her body resented it. The sobs were muffled by the running water and she felt the salt of her tears being washed away. Only the bitterness remained. 

_ What am I going to do now? What do I do? _

She needed to figure it out. The time was over. Regina hadn’t come after her, and if it hadn’t happened by now, it wasn’t going to happen at all. The alpha wasn’t going to claim her first mate; the thing she had paid so much for. Emma was sure of it at this point. 

_ I could forget about it _ , she thought.  _ Thank her, just thank her and forget about it. Why not? She wanted to make a donation, so be it. Rich people sponsor scholarships all the time, don’t they? And what’s the harm in that? She said herself the money meant nothing. So why not forget about it? _

But she knew why not - because it also meant forgetting about  _ her _ . That was proving to be the hardest part. Everytime Emma was awake in the last five days, she found herself justifying everything Regina had said and done. It wasn’t even that difficult - Emma wasn’t going to be a hypocrite and say Regina had fooled her entirely with that tale of waiting until she was peaking. At first, ok, Emma thought it might be it. But then they kept meeting, and making out, and getting to know each other, and it would be ridiculous to state that she didn’t know what was going on. They were buying time together. Regina didn’t do it alone. Emma didn’t feel cheated about it.

_ But she thought I would. That's what she apologized for.  _

The truth was much more complicated than that. Emma was angry and humiliated by the idea of playing the part of the damsel in distress that needed to be saved by a shining alpha. She hated it so much that for sometime she mistook it from hating Regina. But she didn’t hate Regina. Jesus, she couldn’t hate Regina no matter how hard she tried.

In the end, what hurt the most was the fact it was all ruined between them. Maybe it had been ruined from the start. It was a business endeavour, and could never be much more than that, could it? As long as Emma was getting paid, Regina would never truly trust her. And as long as Emma was getting paid, she’d always feel subdued by the alpha. There was no balance in it. They were doomed.

Regina had seen it first - hence the stalling. Emma wished she felt like it had been a mistake. She wished she felt angry about those weeks invested in something with no future. She wished she felt something other than loneliness. 

The tears finally dried, so she closed the tap and put on her robe, taking comfort in having control over her body again. There were still two or three untouched baskets of food lying around the room and she scavenged through them before climbing to bed again with her phone.

She texted her friends back, letting them know the worst was already over. Ruby was on her way home the next day, and Emma felt glad for it. The omega stuffed a pack of cookies in her mouth before gathering the energy to check her emails.

“What the fuck?” She whispered as she realized there were six - no, seven - messages from Archie on her inbox. There had been a few missed calls too that Emma ignored as she had no mind to deal with him then.

She frowned as she rolled down, eyes roaming the subject lines.

_ Random House _ , one said.

_ Harper Collins _ , another announced.

_ Simon & Schuster. _

_ MacMillan. _

_ Auction. _

_ UK rights. _

_ World rights. _

“What the fuck,” She whispered again. And on cue the phone started buzzing on her hand.

* * *

How much things could change in eighteen days?

_ Very much _ , Emma thought as she walked into the elevator.  _ And nothing at all. _

She felt her heart thumping against her ribcage; the same kind of thrilling fear you got on a roller coaster. Not all bad, but still agonizing; enthralling and paralyzing. She had asked for it, and now she wondered why. Just. God. Why. Her hands felt cold and sweaty, and Kenny G. sounded relentless on the background.

Just eighteen days before she had made the way down in that same steel box, and it had felt like the world was ending. Now it was over already, all crumbled down in pieces, and somehow she made her way back up. Eighteen days before she had walked away from the woman she now had requested to see again. 

If everything was so different, how come she still felt the same?

When the door opened to the alpha’s hall, Emma looked up to find Regina on the archway entry - close enough to welcome her, far enough so Emma had to really come inside the apartment. Regina had always had a strategic mind. Something it was so easy for Emma to appreciate - except when her own forces stood on the other side. 

“Emma,” Regina greeted her, using her name as if it meant a thousand different things. She rested a hand on the doorframe while her body moved just an inch forward, as if she was clinging onto anything to contain the impulse to get closer.

“Hey,” The omega replied, stepping out of the car. Only when the doors closed behind her and they heard the elevator start is way down again Regina let herself step forward; Emma couldn’t immediately run away anymore.

“Please, come in. I made tea.”

“No, thanks, I’m not…” Emma shook her head. “I won’t take long.”

Regina hadn’t hoped she would; Emma had been so curt on her messages, professional, if she may call it. This wasn’t a reunion, was it? In best case scenario, it was a meeting. But it didn’t matter this much, because she was there. Regina could lay eyes on her; if for a minute or an hour, well, she would accept what she got. Being ambitious hadn’t quite worked out for her before.

Emma’s scent was sweet now, faint and light, like warm milk and honey. The cycle was over, or at least almost over at this point. There was no clouded eyes or blushed cheeks, no despair nor pain. Even so, to Regina she never looked more beautiful or more attractive. They locked eyes, and the past three weeks seemed to fly away for a second, and they were back together in that world of intimity nobody else could inhabit.

But it only lasted a second.

“I believe you wanted to talk?” Regina ventured, eyebrow raising slightly.

“Yeah. No. Not to talk, exactly. Just settle something.”

“I see.”

“Do you?” Emma snorted. “I don’t think you see.”

“I’m sorry you think that. Why don’t you show me, then?”

Emma sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “You know what, maybe I do want to talk,” She said, annoyed. “I got you baskets, and your messages, and your emails and your cards. And I’m so over it. I don’t want your apologies, I never wanted them, you don’t know what you’re apologizing for.”

“I kn--”

“No, shut up,” She cut, raising her voice unintentionally. “It pisses me off so much you think I’m this naive, that I didn’t know what was going on between us. All the time we spent together, we did it because we both wanted it. Stop making yourself a martir by thinking you tricked me into it.”

“I was not--”

“Shut up!” Emma yelled, stepping forward in her anger. “You are done talking. I’m done listening. I am not a damsel in distress! You don’t get to save me!” 

Regina frowned deeply, parting her lips, the words almost visible as she swallowed them again, dark eyes glaring at Emma - but she said nothing. Emma wished she didn’t love it, that she didn’t adore each one of those unsaid words. There really was a power in being angry, but she didn’t need to use it on Regina, because the alpha didn’t mean to fight her back. Emma could still  _ smell  _ Regina’s temper rising, as much as she could see the glimmering in her eyes. She thought - maybe she just hoped - none of this would be there anymore, but it was. Recognizing Regina by the scent, knowing her thoughts by her eyes - it felt like a home she had never had. 

“I wouldn’t have held it against you if you had mated me,” Emma went on. “I wouldn’t look back and regret the weeks that lead to it, the moments we shared before you claimed your right. I would have enjoyed it, and much more than I ever hoped to enjoy it.” She watched as Regina closed her hands, nails biting into the palm, shoulders rigid, but voice still silent. “So if you chose not to do it, it wasn’t because  _ I _ couldn’t handle the consequences - it was all about  _ you _ . You couldn’t handle it! You knew  _ you’d  _ look at me in your bed after and only see the money you paid to get me there. You didn’t want to do it because it made you disgusted with yourself to know you used your money, this thing you disdain so much, that you used it to smother the loneliness that stinks this whole place!”

The words echoed as if the walls resented them, and then there was silence again, and Emma realized she was a little out of breath. Suddenly there was a different kind of gleam in Regina’s eyes, something awfully vulnerable that had never been there before, and it sucked the anger out of the omega so fast she almost swayed. 

“I…” She staggered then. “What I meant to say is that you don’t have to feel guilty about the things we didn’t say out loud. Because I knew them. I’m not an idiot. And you’re not the bad guy. This just… got out of line. Turned into something it was never meant to be, but it’s not your fault. Ok?”

Regina stared at her, frozen but melting, still but barely. “Am I allowed to answer now?” She whispered at last, and Emma snorted under her breath.

“Yes, but you don’t really have to.” 

“You seem to have all figured out.”

“I do,” Emma nodded. “I finally do.” She reached into her back pocket and took out a small envelope. Regina arched an eyebrow as Emma offered it, and her eyes reluctantly left the omega’s face to see what was inside.

“What is…?”

“I sold my novel,” Emma explained while Regina stared at the check on her hands. “Pretty big fucking deal. I’m being published in like fourteen countries so far.”

“Emma, that’s…”

“That’s payback,” She interrupted, deflating the smile forming on Regina’s lips. “I don’t owe you anything anymore. I’m free.”

She waited for the words that were sure to come.  _ You don’t have to. That’s not necessary. I’m not taking it. Don’t be silly.  _ But then, ironically, as she prepared to refute each one of Regina’s words, none came. The woman looked up at her eyes, the silence now full of sounds, somehow, as if the world had woken up around them. Regina looked at her for what felt like a million years, but probably wasn’t more than five seconds. She seemed to read something on Emma’s face the omega couldn’t quite guess what was. It made her uneasy, and then Regina’s scent thickened, pulling her by the guts once more.

“I see,” Regina finally consented. “Thank you.” And then she slipped the check into her own pocket. Just like that. It was over. They were over. Definitely. Emma had wanted to be there in person, to claim herself back from that alpha, to unwind herself from that situation before Regina’s eyes. She hoped to get some sort of power from it, some sort of relief, but there was none. Regina let her go without so much as a fight, and it was all said and all done, and they were over. She was free. She was free to go.

“Yeah…” Emma murmured. “Yeah, you’re welcome. Have a nice life.” She turned around and pressed the button to call the elevator back. It whistled its agreement immediately, coming to get her. 

“Emma.”

She didn’t turn around. She couldn’t, really. She couldn’t anymore. The doors slid open with a soft gush of air conditioning. Then a hand closed on her wrist as she motioned to step into it, and she span around to meet Regina’s chest. Another hand climbed her nape and her lips were already parting as the alpha’s met them. 

Regina kissed her with every emotion Emma hadn’t let her voice; she forced the unsaid words down the omega’s throat with a scorching dose of lust, pulling her closer, closer. Emma’s heat had been a faint memory for over a week, but then something within her broke loose and the temperature rose again, like wildfire. They burned in a hurry, in a kind of flame that almost tore them apart. 

Emma held on to Regina as the alpha pressed her against the wall besides the elevator door. And God help her if in that moment she wasn’t peaking again as Regina’s hard-on pressed her stomach and her taste became sharp and enticing. She fought the alpha’s pants, gasping against her hard kiss, burning below the woman’s rough touch that still didn’t seem like enough. Emma pulled Regina’s clothes down just enough to allow her cock to spring free, nodding a hurried consent, and the alpha in return pushed her knickers to the ground underneath the summer dress. 

And then, because Emma was free, because Emma was free to really choose her, she guided Regina inside. The omega rested her head against the wall and screamed into the empty hall as Regina penetrated her; she was already wet, dripping wet, and her whole body ached with this absurd need, unlike anything she had ever felt. The alpha raised Emma’s leg to wrap it around her hip, allowing her to go deeper, and the world tilted in its axis.

Regina was bigger, thicker, than anything she tried before, and her sex contracted, the pressure building with the need until it was pure despair and Emma sank her nails on Regina’s ass trying to force her in at once. The woman kissed a line down throat and grunted an agreement before thrusting slightly. 

It hurt, the sweetest kind of pain Emma would ever know, and she sobbed and moaned as they mated wholeheartedly. Regina fulfilled her, so profoundly Emma could never find words for it - and she would try, later, so many times. The pleasure exploded through her body, and it still wasn’t enough, and she pulled Regina further, asking for more, more, accommodating that wonderful part of her that suddenly was part of Emma too. Every second it fit better, and better, and Regina thrusted and panted against her neck, a breath that was vapor and poison. 

Emma started to come with her heart storming through her chest and her head banging lightly against the wall with every charge of Regina’s hips. The hands on her body were iron and fire, and the alpha held on to her so tight Emma felt the power - her own power, the power she exercised right at that moment. She was the fucking universe and she held Regina’s life inside her, and when the alpha came, Emma owned every fucking thing she ever was and could ever be. She was a goddess and she was nothing at all; it didn’t matter, as long as it felt this good. 

It felt so good.

She trailed her hands up Regina’s back slowly as the alpha raised her head again, eyes dark as Emma had never seen them, wide and beautiful on that reddened face. 

“Oh, God,” Were the first words that came out of her mouth. “Your first… I shouldn’t have…”

“Don’t ruin it,” Emma warned her, and leaned in to seize Regina’s mouth again, earning a low, so low, moan as their tongues met. 

“I thought it was over,” The alpha whispered. 

Emma wasn’t sure if she meant their affair or her heat, but either way she said, “It  _ was _ .”

But it wasn’t anymore, clearly. There was lava running through her veins, and she felt it calling upon Regina, too. She was still hard, wonderfully hard, and when the alpha moved a bit away and slipped out, Emma wanted to scream. 

“Let’s go to bed,” She called, but bed seemed as far away as another continent. Instead, Emma turned around, propping her hands against the wall and looking at Regina over her shoulder. Her crumpled dress showed just the underside of her bare ass, and all Emma had to do was spread her legs a little to make that invitation irrecusable. 

Regina pulled her hair aside and kissed the side of her neck, spreading chills all over Emma’s skin. She had this feeling she was missing Regina even as the woman touched her - in truth, missing her more by the second, a physical absence that her body demanded to be remedied. 

“I know,” Regina whispered into her ear when Emma groaned, a resented sound even to her ears. And then she entered her again, the head of her cock teasing Emma’s entry for a second, slipping in easily, and then going deeper, filling Emma with an intrinsic sense of fullness that overcame the simple sexual pleasure. 

Oh, but the sexual pleasure, too… Regina’s hot breath against her ear, the thump of her heart on Emma’s back, the pulse of her cock inside her, in and almost out, then in again, so easy, so good. The alpha’s hand grabbing her waist, grabbing her hair, tongue on her nape, teeth closing on locks of hair, just taking everything she could. Her whole sex was throbbing, quivering at every thrust, sending waves of sensation that overwhelmed her brain with delight. She felt Regina’s pelvis pressing her ass as she charged, the swollen head of her cock pounding against a sensitive spot that made Emma see stars. 

Regina called her name with a strained voice, the sexiest voice, a call from the deepest parts of a volcano. Emma was so stupefied she couldn’t answer the call, although she supposed her body responded to it very well. She enjoyed the sound of her name from Regina’s throat, never acknowledging it sounded each time her sex tightened around the woman’s cock, and not even understanding what it was warning her of until Regina came inside her again, her semen running down the omega’s legs. It was the ultimate arousal that Regina came first, though it only lasted a second because the idea made Emma orgasm too in a hurry. 

“I’m s--” 

“Don’t ruin it,” Emma panted, turning around again. This time Regina was the one pulling her in for a kiss. She was burning too, she was on fire as much as Emma was, finally. They would both hurt if they parted, they’d both find it unbearable now. They were  _ mating  _ now, and it was far from over.

The alpha crumpled the cloth of her dress in her fists and pulled Emma through the hall, kissing her all the way as she walked backwards into the living room. Emma stumbled after her, disturbing their progress to free Regina from her pants once and for all. The alpha kicked it away two steps before they made it to the couch, and Emma pushed her to sit down hastily. 

Regina’s hard-on hadn’t wavered one bit, and Emma felt her throat scalding with lust as she looked at it from above. The alpha leaned forward, hands swiftly pushing the straps from Emma’s shoulders and allowing the dress to fall from her upper body. One smart pull at the skirt and it pooled at the omega’s feet. 

Regina’s hands were pulling her even as Emma was already climbing her lap. She closed a hand around the woman’s cock, marvelling at how hard it felt before driving it inside once more. It hurt again then, as it seemed to go deeper than the times before, making way inside Emma to depths never ever touched. Emma bounced a little on the woman’s lap, somehow wanting it to hurt further, yelping as she had her wish attended. It felt devilishly good, she had no idea why, but she bounced again and Regina’s cock seemed to tear her apart a little, trying to fit where Emma was tight and sore. 

“Easy,” Regina whispered, hand tangled on her hair, mouth against hers. “Easy now.”

But easy wasn’t going to cut it, not when this felt so delicious her mind was blunted by the sensation. So Emma started to ride her, and the change on Regina’s breathing was  instantaneous. The pain increased at first, and the omega grimaced and moaned as the agonizing pleasure rocked her body. All the time she could feel she was lubricating more and more, running down Regina’s cock, letting her slip in and out effortlessly.

She sped up, hands closing on Regina’s shoulders for support as her hips rolled up and down, harder and faster, echoing the acute pain of penetration from her sex to her temples, and all the time she was on the verge of an orgasm that felt like a black hole waiting to suck the life out of her. The pain was the only thing keeping Emma on the ground, like gravity. Two forces competing for her being, and she couldn’t resist any of them. 

Ultimately, the pain gave way, or was overpowered by the black hole. Because the black hole counted with Regina’s voice whispering in her ear, and with her scent filling Emma’s throat, and with her kisses burning her mouth. So gravity lost and Emma fell into the orgasm, screaming at the amount of relief that flooded her. 

Only when it eased down she felt the pressure of fingers gripping her waist like iron claws and the energy that had left her body after this strain. She also realized that Regina hadn’t joined her this time, although that revealing vein was popping at her forehead. 

“Are you ok?” The alpha asked, caressing her jaw with her knuckles. Emma closed her eyes, head leaning into the touch. “Is it hurting?”

Emma grinned with her eyes still closed. That was it, then? Regina couldn’t completely enjoy it if Emma was in pain, even if the omega enjoyed it herself? 

“I’m good,” She assured, her voice sounding much hoarser than she anticipated. “But I need you to come for me too. I need it.”

Regina inched closer and brushed her lips on Emma’s eyelids. “Alright.” She wrapped her arms around the omega and turned them both to the side, laying the girl on the couch and standing on top of her in one fluid movement that did not even part their joined hips.

Emma gasped and opened her eyes again to find Regina’s face very close, the shadow of a grin twitching the corner of her lips. She felt a little sore as the woman adjusted herself between the omega’s legs, and opened them further to accommodate her. Regina kissed her on the mouth, then trailed down her neck and shoulders while she moved, settling into position, until… yes. Emma arched her back and moaned loudly as Regina charged her hips and her pelvic bone pressed her clit in the process. The penetration was smooth and delicious now, but the shock that every thrust rose in her clit was maddening. The joined sensations made her start to convulse in no time, and Regina seemed to watch in awe as Emma came in less than thirty seconds. 

The orgasm seemed to relax every taut muscle in her body, overflowing them with a painless pleasure that erased every ounce of resistance she might still hold. From then on, there was no pain whatsoever; her body was completely willing, completely taken. She held on to Regina, scratching her back all the way to her ass, murmuring in her ear an honest plead for her not to stop now.

Regina didn’t stop, but she took her time, she imposed the rhythm, which Emma slowly learned to follow. The eagerness was still there, almost too powerful to be contained, demanding more and more, but as the alpha took control Emma had to wait and follow suit, and then they found their pace, moving together. Regina kissed her, her tongue sweet and burning, distracting Emma enough so her hips lost track, and the alpha slowed down again, raising protestiful moans - but still she slowed down, waited for Emma to meet her beat again, and it was so good when she did it. 

It felt like a song, their song, and Emma hummed to it. 

She came again just after, a turmoil of sensation that pushed her out of tune, and Regina waited, moving again, moving still, until Emma started over. She came a third time less than a minute later, but this time Regina didn’t wait for her, and Emma had to find the rhythm again to catch up. The next time she came, she didn’t lost track, they were in unisson, moving so good, so damn good together, and Emma never felt this much pleasure in her life. The orgasm found her with her tongue inside Regina’s mouth and her clit throbbing maddly at every thrust, and when it went away nothing had changed, and it didn’t change in the next nor in the next. 

And when something did change, it came from Regina. Her shallow breath became harder, and her skin heated further, her muscles tensing under Emma’s touch, and then she felt it - the pressure building inside her as Regina started to knot her. 

“Do you want--”

“Yes, yes,” Emma said in a hurry, throwing her arms around Regina’s neck and arching her body so there wasn’t an inch between them. Nothing between them. She wanted this, she wanted this so bad. 

Regina’s cock swelled within her, fulfilling Emma in a way she never thought possible. They were so together they were inseparable.  _ This is mating _ , she thought dizzily.  _ She’s mating me. _ It was the most wondrous thought in the universe. She felt tight around Regina’s cock, restraining it inside, keeping her, taking her. It felt so good she wanted to scream, and the alpha pressed her mouth on the hollow of her shoulder and muffled the most delicious sounds too. The kind of pleasure they were sharing now wasn’t from this earth, it couldn’t be. They plunged in it together and went deeper and deeper until the ground seemed to tremble and they exploded in a shattering climax.

The alpha dove her face into Emma’s chest, and the omega stared at the ceiling, pupils so dilated her eyes were almost all black. Her heart was hammering her ribcage, and as the thrills still runned through her veins, she could only think, “I want more.”

“Hmm?” Regina mumbled into her skin.

“I want more,” Emma repeated, arching her spine at once, her body eager, wanting, demanding again. 

Regina was taken by surprise and thrown out of balance, rolling to the side where there was no more couch to receive her. Emma grimaced to the sound of the woman’s back meeting the ground.

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” She said, turning to peek at the woman on the floor from above.

“I highly doubt it,” Regina replied, so beautiful lying there on the carpet, not quite smiling, but definitely amused, her rosy cheeks and brown eyes gleaming.

Emma came down from the couch to straddle her on the floor, leaning forward to kiss that gorgeous smart mouth, hands unbuttoning the shirt that still dared to be between them. Regina caressed her spine, her hair, her thighs, helping as Emma got rid of her shirt and bra.

“This feels so good,” Emma whispered as she sat up again and steered Regina’s stark cock inside once more. She closed her eyes and sighed as it slid in. “How could you resist it? When you knew… fuck, when you knew it felt this good?”

“It doesn’t always feels like this,” Regina said hoarsely, breath coming out ragged as Emma started to move. The omega looked at her from above, listening to the words the woman didn’t care to say. That this between them was something more, something else. 

Regina propped herself on her elbows and lifted her upper body until her mouth reached Emma’s breasts, sucking on a nipple slow and sensually. The omega threaded her fingers by the woman’s hair, letting her head fall back, moaning as the heat expanded on her guts. And they found their pace again - Emma didn’t think they’d ever lose it anymore.

She moved back and forth, Regina’s kisses climbing her chest, leaving a tingling sensation even when she laid back again. Her hands held Emma’s waist, thighs, hips, encouraging her to go faster, to give them both everything. So she did. Regina groaned as they knotted again, the movement a strain now, but so good, unbelievably good. This time Emma lead the band, and their song reached such a high note, their bodies one instrument now, just one joined thing, one thing only.

And when they came, the feeling of satisfaction was a triumph, a prize Emma was surprised to hold in her sweaty hands. Satisfaction. Running through her veins like fire, then leaving behind an electrical pleasure. Oh, God, satisfaction. It existed. She tasted it. She basked in it. A giggle bubbled out of her throat and she toppled on Regina’s chest. Feeling so satisfied. 

They laid in silence for a little while, enjoying that moment of pure delight. After a minute or two, Emma let Regina slip out of her and curled by her side, sluggishly. The alpha turned to lay on her side too so she could face Emma, an unarmed expression on her face that the omega absolutely loved to see. There were so many walls to be built now, but Regina was at sight.

“There are so many things I want to say to you,” She said, fingertips brushing a lock of hair from Emma’s face. “Will you let me?”

Emma chuckled. “Maybe.” 

Regina smiled too. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Just pick one, I guess. But be smart about it.”

“Alright,” Regina nodded. The warmth from Emma’s skin was like a private sun. It filled her with so much life. There really were so many things she wanted to say, rehearsed things, and deep things, important things. But having Emma in her arms pushed everything else aside and left only the deep wanting of always having her. So to Emma’s expecting eyes, she said, “Marry me, Emma.”

The omega froze for a second, then frowned, the lines on her forehead deep, incredulous. “I told you to be  _ smart  _ about it.”

“That was the smartest thing I have ever said. The brightest idea I ever had.”

“You’re crazy, woman. That’s not something to joke about.”

“I’m not joking.”

“We have known each other for less than two months!”

“So what?” Regina grinned. “I’m merely offering us an opportunity to get to know each other for the rest of our lives.”

“Fuck, I must be really good in bed.”

This time the woman chuckled. Oh, Emma loved to make her laugh. It was such a weakness. Completely unfair.

“In fact, you are,” Regina agreed, punctuating the line with a soft, moist kiss that mostly reminded Emma that the alpha was pretty good herself.

“You know, these really weren’t the three words I was expecting when I came here today.”

“You came to bring me a check,” Regina reminded her. “What  _ were  _ the words you were expecting? ‘Want a receipt’?” 

“Shut up,” Emma complained, punching her shoulder lightly. 

“I’m not shutting up anymore,” Regina said, holding her closer. Emma let the air out slowly, feeling her dumb heart faltering as the alpha whispered into her ear, “I love you.”

So there it was. Love. Something Emma was pretty good writing about, fantasizing about, and running from. It had caught up, at last. And it felt warm and safe in a way she didn’t guess it could be. Was it crazy that she trusted it, when Regina said it? Was it crazy that after everything, she had no doubt she felt it too? She had pointed out Regina’s loneliness, but her own was a big monster, too. It had always been. But when Regina held her, it dissipated. 

So what was she afraid of, if the thing she feared the most had sneaked in on her and turned out to be the greatest thing she had ever had? 

What was there to fear anymore?

Emma sighed lowly, and to Regina’s watchful eyes she said the four words the woman was surely expecting to hear back.

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”


End file.
